How many bedrooms are there in that house. Tens of thousands of regular sized townhouses in DC have 5 bedrooms, and that building is much more expensive. The owners of all those houses have a right to rent out two bedrooms to others.
It looks like a very comfortable pad, if you can stand DC.
http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/real-estate/news/g2535/obama-new-house-photos/
It lacks a West Wing, to be sure, but there's more than enough living space for Barry, Moochelle, the kids, and ValJar.