Martha’s Vineyard has apparently upped its presidential pedigree.

Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have purchased a seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom home in Edgartown, Massachusetts, according to reports. The price for the 29-acre estate was $11.75 million, public records show.

The property was purchased by a trust represented by attorney Ronald Rappaport, a partner at Reynolds, Rappaport, Kaplan and Hackney, according to records made available Wednesday. The trust is reportedly tied to the Obamas, but Mansion Global could not confirm the connection. Mr. Rappaport did not return requests for comment.

Gerret Conover and Thomas LeClair, partners at LandVest Martha’s Vineyard, were the listing and selling brokers for the property. Mr. Conover confirmed the sale via email, and that the property was previously owned by Wyc Grousbeck, owner of the Boston Celtics.

The sale price was more than $3 million less than the asking price for the almost 7,000-square-foot home on the Edgartown Great Pond, according to records. It was most recently listed for $14.85 million, but has seen several price cuts since it was first listed in February 2015 for $22.5 million.

Mr. Conover and Mr. LeClair took over from another agency later in May 2017, relisting the property for $19.25 million, records show. It was cut to $16.25 million in May 2018 and then again in July 2019 to $14.85 million. Both agents declined to comment further on any other details of the sale.

Mr. Grousbeck bought the estate in 1998 for $3.15 million, according to property records. He did not return requests for comment.
Rumors about the Obamas buying the Edgartown home have been swirling since the summer, when the family rented the residence, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. Representatives for the family declined to comment.

The Obamas have summered on the Vineyard for years, and they aren’t the only politicians who are fond of the coastal New England area. The Clinton family has spent time there, and former Secretary of State and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry bought a home there in 2017. Red Gate Farm, the former estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is currently on the market there for $65 million, according to LandVest.

The home was designed by Brandenburger Taylor Lombardo Architects from San Francisco, with multiple areas for entertaining, both indoors and out. The living room has vaulted ceilings, exposed steel beams and a stone fireplace, the listing said. There are two guest wings, and the master suite boasts a fireplace, a private sun deck and water views. There’s a chef’s kitchen with ample built-in storage and a formal circular dining room overlooks the grounds and pond.

Outside, there’s both an outdoor fireplace and screened porch with a fireplace, according to the listing. There’s also a pool and a Jacuzzi off the second-floor balcony that has expansive views of the water. The property offers direct access to the pond, and includes a boat house and a private beach front with deeded rights, as per the listing.

Floods in Sudan damage thousands of homes

Thousands of homes have been damaged in Sudan after torrential rains caused heavy flooding, with many streets in the capital Khartoum deep in water, AFP correspondents said Sunday.

Heavy rains usually fall in Sudan from June to October, and the country faces severe flooding every year, wrecking properties, infrastructure, and crops.

In Atbara, a city in Sudan’s northeast, the official news agency SUNA reported that a number of houses had “collapsed” due to the heavy rains.

On Thursday, the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA said some 12,000 people in eight out of the country’s 18 states had been affected.

“Over 800 homes have reportedly been destroyed and over 4,400 homes damaged,” the UN said.

Last year, heavy rains forced Sudan to declare a three-month state of emergency, after flooding affected at least 650,000 people, with over 110,000 homes damaged or destroyed.

In 2020, the Blue Nile — which joins the White Nile in the Sudanese capital Khartoum — floodwater swelled the river to its highest level since records began over a century ago.