Newton, MA 02458 · 02459 · 02460 · 02461 · 02462 · 02464 · 02465 · 02466 · 02467 · 02468
Newton Real Estate
Thirteen villages, seven Green Line stops and Heartbreak Hill on Commonwealth Avenue
Updated
- ZIP codes
- 02458 · 02459 · 02460 · 02461 · 02462 · 02464 · 02465 · 02466 · 02467 · 02468
- Getting around
- Green Line D branch from Chestnut Hill to Riverside; Framingham/Worcester commuter rail at Newtonville, West Newton and Auburndale
- Typical homes
- Victorian and Colonial Revival single-families, two-family homes, and condos near the village centers
Newton is less one place than a federation of villages. Thirteen of them, including Newton Centre, West Newton, Auburndale, Waban, Newton Highlands, Nonantum and Chestnut Hill, each grew up around its own railroad depot or mill site, and most still have a small commercial center with a library branch, a few blocks of storefronts and houses fanning out on curving residential streets. The city sits roughly seven to eight miles west of downtown Boston, with the Charles River along much of its western and northern edge.
Day to day, life tends to orbit whichever village center is closest. Newton Centre clusters around the green where Beacon and Centre Streets meet; West Newton and Newtonville line Washington Street beside the Mass Pike. For time outdoors there is Crystal Lake, the woods around Hammond Pond, and Hemlock Gorge with the stone arch of Echo Bridge in Newton Upper Falls. Every April the Boston Marathon climbs Heartbreak Hill on Commonwealth Avenue on its way toward Boston College.
Because transit differs by village, it pays to look at the map before the listing. The southern villages follow the Green Line D branch, the northern ones follow the commuter rail along the Pike, and some pockets in between rely mainly on the car or the bus.
Living in Newton
What makes Newton special
Village centers
Newton Centre, Newtonville, West Newton Square and Waban each have their own small main street of shops, cafes and services within walking distance of homes.
Green Line D branch
Seven D branch stations run through the city, from Chestnut Hill and Newton Centre to Eliot, Waban, Woodland and the Riverside terminal.
Hemlock Gorge
The Charles River drops through Hemlock Gorge in Newton Upper Falls, crossed by the nineteenth-century masonry arch of Echo Bridge.
Crystal Lake
A natural pond off Lake Avenue near Newton Centre, with a public swimming beach and bathhouse run by the city in summer.
Marathon route
Commonwealth Avenue carries the Boston Marathon through Newton, including the Newton hills and Heartbreak Hill near Boston College.
The Market
Newton homes & real estate
Newton's housing stock reflects the era each village developed. Around Newtonville, West Newton and Newton Corner you see Victorian and Queen Anne houses from the railroad suburb years, alongside Colonial Revival and Shingle-style homes. Nonantum and parts of Newton Upper Falls have more two-family houses on smaller lots, many now split into condos. Waban, Oak Hill and Chestnut Hill lean toward larger single-families from the early and mid twentieth century, and newer townhouse and apartment buildings have appeared near Washington Street and the village centers.
With so many villages, the useful questions are local ones. Walking distance to a D branch stop or commuter rail station, proximity to the Pike and its noise, lot size and whether a house has been expanded, and the condition of older systems all vary street by street. Two-family conversions deserve a careful read of the condo documents. When you want current numbers for a specific village, The Pettengill Group can pull recent sales and walk you through them.
Helpful guides: First-time buyer guideHow offers work in MassachusettsMortgage options by property typeSelling a house in Massachusetts
Compare: Brookline vs. Newton
Getting around: Commuter rail townsGreen Line guide
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What ZIP codes cover Newton?
Newton has ten residential ZIP codes, roughly one per village or pair of villages, including 02458 (Newton and Newton Corner), 02459 (Newton Centre), 02460 (Newtonville), 02461 (Newton Highlands), 02462 (Newton Lower Falls), 02464 (Newton Upper Falls), 02465 (West Newton), 02466 (Auburndale), 02467 (Chestnut Hill, shared with Brookline and Boston) and 02468 (Waban).
How do you get to downtown Boston from Newton?
The Green Line D branch runs from Riverside through Newton Centre and Chestnut Hill to Kenmore and downtown. On the north side, Framingham/Worcester Line trains stop at Newtonville, West Newton and Auburndale on the way to Back Bay and South Station, and the Mass Pike runs straight into the city.
What types of homes are for sale in Newton?
Most of the market is single-family homes in styles from Victorian to mid-century, with two-family houses and condo conversions concentrated in villages like Nonantum, Newton Corner and Newton Upper Falls, plus some newer townhouse and apartment-style condos.
What are the villages of Newton?
Newton's thirteen villages are Auburndale, Chestnut Hill, Newton Centre, Newton Corner, Newton Highlands, Newton Lower Falls, Newton Upper Falls, Newtonville, Nonantum, Oak Hill, Thompsonville, Waban and West Newton.
What is Newton known for?
Newton is known for its village structure, the Boston Marathon's Newton hills and Heartbreak Hill, Boston College's main campus in Chestnut Hill, and green spaces such as Crystal Lake and Hemlock Gorge.
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