Chicago Homeowners Cash in on Being Obama's Neighbor

A new real estate principle called "the Obama Factor" has been coined this week. After seven months on the market, the 14-bedroom home next to President Barack Obama's residence in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood sold for $1.4 million.

"The Obama Factor," according to listing agent Matt Garrison, is the heightened interest the property garnered both across the nation and internationally, and the droves of people who visited the listing's Web site. The sellers, the Grimshaws, who paid $53,000 for the house in 1973, initially put the house on the market in late September without a price tag to see what kind of offers would roll in.

"We wanted to see if a non-traditional buyer would pay a big number," Garrison said, adding that what made this home different is that it needed a lot of work. "But it takes a special buyer to pay $1.4 million and then to put another million into a renovation."