Brookline and Newton touch at Chestnut Hill, where Route 9, the Green Line D branch and the 02467 ZIP code all cross the boundary. Beyond that shared corner, the two are laid out quite differently. Brookline’s northern half is a compact grid of apartment buildings and brownstones strung along Beacon Street, while Newton spreads across thirteen villages that each grew around a depot or mill. The Brookline and Newton area guides cover each in more detail.
Town government vs. city government
Brookline is a town and Newton is a city, and neither belongs to Boston. That is more than a label.
Buyers comparing two homes near the Chestnut Hill line should verify the municipality on the assessor’s database, because the mailing address alone can be misleading. Current rates are on our property tax rates page, and official school data for both districts is at profiles.doe.mass.edu.
What you find on the market
Brookline
In north Brookline, condos make up a large share of listings. Many are in turn-of-the-century brick buildings and brownstone rows along Beacon Street, and others are in converted Victorian two- and three-families on the side streets near Coolidge Corner and Washington Square. Older brick buildings often share a heating system, which makes the association budget and reserve study worth reading closely.
On the hills (Corey Hill just north of Beacon Street, Fisher Hill between Beacon Street and Route 9, and Pill Hill south of Route 9 near Brookline Village) there are Victorian and Colonial Revival single-families.
Newton
Newton’s market tilts toward single-family houses. The style tends to track the village:
- Queen Anne and Victorian houses near Newtonville, West Newton and Newton Corner
- larger early and mid twentieth century homes in Waban, Oak Hill and Chestnut Hill
- more two-families (many split into condos) in Nonantum and Newton Upper Falls
Newer townhouses and apartment-style condos have been added near Washington Street and some village centers. Our mortgage options by property type guide explains how financing differs for a condo versus a single-family or two-family.
Commuting from each
Brookline
Brookline has two Green Line branches. The C branch runs down the median of Beacon Street, and the D branch stops at Longwood, Brookline Village, Brookline Hills, Beaconsfield and Reservoir; both reach Kenmore and continue downtown.
- Longwood
- Brookline Village
- Brookline Hills
- Beaconsfield
- Reservoir
Newton
Newton depends on where in the city you are. The southern villages follow the D branch from Chestnut Hill to Riverside. The northern villages line the Mass Pike, with Framingham/Worcester Line trains at Newtonville, West Newton and Auburndale heading to Back Bay and South Station. Some pockets between the two corridors rely mainly on buses or driving. The Green Line guide and commuter rail guide go station by station.
Outdoors and landmarks
Brookline
Brookline’s eastern edge follows Olmsted Park and the Riverway, part of the Emerald Necklace, and Frederick Law Olmsted’s home and office, Fairsted, is a National Historic Site on Warren Street. Larz Anderson Park sits on a former hilltop estate.
Newton
Newton has Crystal Lake’s public beach, the woods around Hammond Pond, Hemlock Gorge with Echo Bridge, and the Boston Marathon’s climb up Heartbreak Hill on Commonwealth Avenue.
Next step
Values in both places depend on building type, parking, lot and distance to a station, and they shift by street. For recent sales on a particular block or village, contact The Pettengill Group, or request a home value estimate if you are selling in either one first.