On the one hand, Brookline pays the second-highest average single-family property tax bill ($21,322) in the Commonwealth, behind only Weston. It is important to note, however, that 2 of the 10 most expensive real estate sales in Massachusetts last year were in Brookline, which suggests that large and expensive outlier properties skew our mean tax bill significantly.
On the other hand, when Brookline’s preponderance of condominiums, two- and three-family homes, rental apartments, and multi-use buildings (combining residential and commercial uses) is taken into account, the average tax bill per unit of housing is $8,569. The number of rental apartments, units within owner-occupied buildings having four or more units, and units within multi-use buildings is not easily obtainable for many of our peer communities, but even excluding these types of residential units, Brookline’s average tax bill is presently in well in line with our peer communities:
Municipality | Number of Condominiums and One-, Two-, and Three-Family Homes | Total Valuation of these Property Types | Residential Tax Rate per $1,000 of Valuation (Before Residential Exemption) | Average Per-Unit Tax Bill for these Property Types |
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Wellesley | 8,154 | $11,838,080,660 | $11.45 | $17,144 |
Lexington | 10,527 | $9,631,802,000 | $13.00 | $16,318 |
Needham | 9,833 | $22,608,069,600 | $13.04 | $13,542 |
Brookline | 17,552 | $13,213,939,569 | $9.97 | $12,842 |
Belmont | 9,794 | $32,151,444,600 | $11.24 | $11,054 |
Arlington | 16,685 | $12,208,806,000 | $11.21 | $7,954 |
Brookline's Tax Bills Compared to Other Communities