Families choosing on schools tend to end up with the same two finalists: Newton and Brookline. Both have strong public schools, both put you close to the city, both have long-established Korean communities.
The numbers say they are less alike than that suggests.
Start with the figures
Zillow Home Value Index, July 2026:
| Newton | Brookline | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical home value | ~$1,540,000 | ~$1,176,000 |
| Year over year | +2.2% | −5.5% |
| Five years | +28.3% | +0.4% |
First, what this number is. ZHVI is not the median price of homes that sold. It is Zillow’s modelled estimate of what a typical mid-tier home in the area is worth, and it blends single-family homes with condominiums. It does not mean Newton houses sell at $1.54M; it means the typical Newton home is valued around there. Any individual listing can sit well off that figure.
With that established, the striking number is not the price gap. It is the five-year gap: over the same period Newton moved more than 28% while Brookline was essentially flat.
What explains it
The two towns sell different things.
Newton’s housing stock is overwhelmingly single-family. Brookline’s eastern half is dominated by large brick condominium buildings from the 1920s and 30s. Single-family homes and condos have not moved at the same pace nationally over the past five years, and the index gap between these two towns substantially reflects that difference in mix.
So this gap is not evidence that Newton is the better investment. A past index tells you what kind of housing a place has, not what will appreciate next. The same applies to Brookline’s −5.5% over the last year: it says the condo segment has been passing through a soft stretch, not that the town has lost its appeal.
What actually decides it
In practice, four things settle this conversation, and none of them is the index.
1. Whether a condo can get you the school district
This is Brookline’s real structural advantage. School assignment follows residency in the town, not property type, so a condo puts you in the same district. That is why Brookline stays reachable for families who cannot buy a single-family home there. Getting a comparable school outcome in Newton usually means buying a house — and that difference is much of the price gap in the table above.
Assignment within the district still depends on the address and the town’s current policy, and policies change. If the school district is why you are making the offer, confirm the current rule for that exact address first.
2. Whether you want to live without a car
Eastern Brookline — Coolidge Corner, Washington Square — sits on the Green Line with groceries, pharmacies, and medical care within walking distance. Plenty of households there manage on one car or none. For families arriving from Seoul who are not eager to drive, this is the difference they feel most in the first year.
Newton varies by village. Newton Centre and Newtonville are walkable; Waban and Auburndale effectively require driving. This is why searching “Newton” as one market gives you a misleading answer — narrow to villages.
3. How much space you actually need
The same money buys considerably more in Newton: a yard, a bedroom each for two children, a room for grandparents visiting from Korea. Brookline’s older condos have generous rooms and high ceilings but less total floor area.
That is a question about how your family lives, not a preference, and walking both usually settles it quickly.
4. How long you are staying
The transaction costs of entering and leaving a premium market are not recovered over a short stay. For a three-year corporate assignment, both towns deserve caution. For a family staying from elementary school through graduation, the figures in that table matter very little by the end.
And a third option
Plenty of families tour both and conclude the numbers do not work. The usual next stop is Waltham (around $831,000) or Watertown — schools to be researched by address, but noticeably more space for the money and, for anyone working along Route 128, often a shorter commute.
Honestly: I have watched families stretch into a school district and be worse off for it. A house you can carry comfortably tends to serve a child better than an address you cannot.
In short
- Newton runs about 31% higher, and much of that is “house versus condo” rather than like for like.
- The five-year gap (28.3% vs 0.4%) is a story about housing mix, not a forecast.
- Brookline’s decisive advantage is that a condo reaches the school district.
- Newton has to be judged by village; judging it as one town produces the wrong answer.
The Newton guide and Brookline guide go deeper on each. If you want the two compared against your actual budget, commute, and children’s ages, get in touch and we will run the numbers together.
Questions
Common questions
Which is more expensive, Newton or Brookline?
As of July 2026, Zillow's Home Value Index puts Newton around $1,540,000 and Brookline around $1,176,000 — Newton roughly 31% higher. That index is a modelled typical home value rather than a median of recorded sales, and it blends single-family homes with condominiums. Since the two towns have very different housing stock, much of that gap reflects what you are buying rather than what the same thing costs.
Can a condo get me into Brookline schools, or do I need a house?
A condo qualifies. School assignment follows residency in the town, not property type, which is why Brookline is reachable for families who could not afford a single-family home there. Assignment within the district depends on your specific address and the town's current policy, and those policies change, so confirm the current rule for that exact address before making an offer on that basis.
Newton grew far more over five years. Does that mean it is the better investment?
No, and reading it that way is a mistake. From July 2021 to July 2026 Zillow's index moved about 28.3% in Newton and about 0.4% in Brookline, but that gap largely reflects a difference in housing mix rather than a forecast. Single-family-heavy and condo-heavy markets did not move together over that period. Past index movement describes what kind of housing a town has, not what will appreciate next.
Written by Diana Yeji Kim — REALTOR® at eXp Realty, serving Greater Boston in English, Korean, and Japanese.
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