Brookline, MA

Brookline is an affluent town almost entirely surrounded by the city of Boston — a geographic peculiarity that gives it an urban density and character more like a Boston neighborhood than a suburban community. Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village, and Washington Square are distinct commercial centers with walkable streetscapes, and the housing stock ranges from grand single-family homes along the country club to dense apartment buildings and condominiums near the Green Line stations.

The Green Line's four branches through Brookline make it one of the most transit-rich communities in the region, and proximity to the T stations is a primary value driver. For property professionals, Brookline is a high-value, high-density market where building type ranges from Victorian estates to mid-rise apartment buildings, and where the difference between a condo near Coolidge Corner and a single-family in Chestnut Hill can be a matter of millions. The town's independent governance — it famously rejected annexation by Boston — means its own zoning, building codes, and property tax structure.