Have the Obamas Bought a Post-White House Home in Palm Springs?

President Obama and his wife may have bought a house in Rancho Mirage, in the Palm Springs area of California, multiple reports indicate.

The 8,200-square-foot former home of novelist Joseph Wambaugh, not far from the home of the Oval Office's interior designer appears to have been the target.

Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra both had homes in the area, as did Gerald Ford. The house was listed at $12 million.

Just before the Fourth of July, the listing agent, Carl Blea of HOM Sotheby's, told The Desert Sun that he could not talk about the buyer's identity.

Last Tuesday, The Desert Sun asked The White House whether Obama bought the 3.29-acre property in Rancho Mirage. The White House would not confirm or deny the statement.

The president's has made three trips to the desert area in a year's time.

-RW