Palm trees sway in the breeze outside the vacation home where President-elect Barack Obama will stay during his holiday in Kailua, Hawaii. Photo by Marco Garcia, The Associated Press

KAILUA, Hawaii (AP) - The Obama family rented an oceanfront home for their Christmas holiday vacation in a laid-back neighborhood over the mountain from downtown Honolulu where the president-elect grew up.

The home is listed on a vacation rental directory.

The five-bedroom wood frame house sits on almost an acre of land fronting Kailua Beach, a favorite spot for windsurfers, kayakers and dogwalkers.

The white sand in front of the house is public land, just like all beaches under state law. The Obamas may see neighbors out for a walk or jog.

The home was originally built in 1934 for Harold K.L. Castle, the landowner who developed much of Kailua after World War II. It was renovated in 2005.

Photographs from a 2007 real estate listing show a stone-encircled swimming pool and an open-air sitting room with views of a grassy lawn and the ocean. City tax records show a Houston man bought the property in January for $9 million.

Kailua is about a 30-minute drive through the Koolau mountains from Honolulu, where Obama was born and spent 14 of the first 18 years of his life.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS