Want to live next door to US President Barack Obama? The colonial mansion next to his Chicago home is now available - for the right price.

So far, the real estate broker handling the sale won't even guess at what that price might be.

"We don't know what premium the Obama factor will have," said Matt Garrison of Coldwell Banker.

"If it was a block away it would be somewhere in the (neighborhood) average of 1.2 to two million dollars."

Garrison's phones have been ringing off the hook since the house was put on the market on Friday.

They've had at least a handful of serious inquiries - one from as far away as London - and expect more to pour in as word gets out.

But those hoping for an invite from Obama or the chance to swap recipes with the First Lady might be setting themselves up for disappointment.

Despite vowing to come home to Chicago as often as possible, the Obamas spend most of their time in Washington and have chosen Camp David and Martha's Vineyard for recent vacations.

The new owners will also have to contend with roadblocks and screening by the Secret Service, what Garrison calls living in "the ultimate gated community."

Viewings of the 6,000 square foot brick home will be scheduled only after potential buyers show they are financially capable of closing the deal.

Built in 1906, the brick colonial mansion has eight bedrooms, a coach house on its ample grounds and has maintained many of its original details and stained glass windows.

It is just a few blocks away from the University of Chicago and the proposed site of the 2016 summer Olympics in the prestigious Kenwood neighborhood on Chicago's south side.

The current owners bought the house for 35,000 dollars in 1973 and are looking to downsize to a condominium.