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Brookfield is located 10 miles west of downtown Milwaukee, and just outside of Milwaukee County along I-94 in Waukesha County. This location affords Brookfield a short commute, yet the popular lower property tax rates and larger lots of Waukesha County.

Brookfield's roots, like many other communities in the area, can be traced back to the mid 1850's. Brookfield Junction grew around the meeting of two railroad lines on Brookfield Road, north of North Avenue. There were other small settlements along Bluemound Road at the half way point between Milwaukee and what later became known as Waukesha.  However the true development boom of Brookfield didn't arrive until nearly a century later.

The end of WWII lead to the possibility of a longer commute from home to work. Plants that once produced vehicles and gas for the war effort switched to production for the civil sector. With a more affordable commute, home buyers looked farther out of the city for a place to call home. Although a few earlier homes exist, the bulk of Brookfield's properties were built starting in exactly 1950. Ranches were the predominate style thru the 50's, and were joined by capes, colonials and multilevels in the 1960's and later. Newer construction has tended to be mostly 2 story, but more "empty nester" type ranches seem to be built each year.

A couple early subdivisions had 1/4 acre lots, but the vast majority of lots in Brookfield were developed to meet a 20,000 sq.ft. minimum size (approx. 1/2 acre - an acre is 43,560 sq.ft.). This is one of the major differences from communities adjacent Brookfield like New Berlin and Menomonee Falls, whose standard lots remained around 1/4 acre until the 1980's.

Until the early 1960's the "water and waste" for new homes were primarily private wells and septic systems and rain/storm water was directed through ditches & culverts along the road edge. Sewer has since been extended to nearly every home in the community and less than 10% still have private wells. Brookfield subdivisions developed after the early 1960's generally had city water and sewer, and included curbs & gutters along the roads edge and "below ground" rain/storm sewer systems.

Home prices in Brookfield start around $175,000 for a small 3 bedroom/1.0 bath home built in the 1950's or 60's. These most affordable neighborhoods tend to be located in the eastern, northern or southern 1 mile of Brookfield. Average size (and price) for homes tend to increase the newer you get. For example an average 1970's 2,400 sq.ft. home might sell in the $350's to $400's or so. The nicer the neighborhood and larger the average size of home there, the higher the price is. Although Brookfield has the reputation of large expensive homes, there are many available in these more average size and price ranges.

Brookfield is approximately 90%+ developed and new home construction tends to be among the largest and most expensive in the metro Milwaukee area. Vacant lot prices in new neighborhoods have jumped to the mid $200,000's or so, a large increase from 4 or 5 years ago when the starting price was closer to $100,000 for a vacant lot. The quality and features of newly built homes seems to rise every year, and finding a 10 or 15  year old or newer home in Brookfield for much under $500,000 is harder each year. The largest (5,000+ sq.ft.) of the newer homes built with the best of everything can sell up over a million dollars. These newer and more upscale subdivisions were previously only found clustered along the stretch of North Avenue west from Calhoun Road. But for the last 10 years or so, the developers of these newer neighborhoods have had to find the remaining parcels of raw land tucked into older more established neighborhoods all through the city of Brookfield.

Wirth park located near the center of Brookfield has a swimming pool, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, picnic areas, "Tot Lot" and small man made sledding hill. Numerous other subdivision parks have playgrounds or ponds for summer fishing or winter ice skating.

Although the residential neighborhoods of Brookfield are quiet, it isn't far to mid sized shopping areas like Ruby Isle and areas on Capitol Drive. And along Bluemound Road, on the southern side of Brookfield, 4+ miles of "strip" shopping centers and the Brookfield Square Mall offer numerous shopping opportunities. If one mall isn't enough, Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa is just a couple miles to the east.

Brookfield and it's neighbor tucked along it's eastern edge, Elm Grove, share a school system. "ElmBrook" is a highly regarded district with well funded schools and high matriculation rates. There are 2 high schools, 2 middle schools and 7 elementary schools in the ElmBrook school district.

To summarize Brookfield, it is known as a quiet "bedroom" community, with great shopping opportunities, a great school district, low property taxes and a short commute... no wonder it's one of the most referred communities. Keep in mind that these features also make it a bit more expensive than many of its neighboring suburbs. There are lots of homes available from the lower $200,000's on up, but unless you can spend around $500,000 or more, finding something "newer" is probably out of the question.

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Having grown up in Brookfield, owned my first home in Wauwatosa for 10 years and currently living in Elm Grove, I have a lot of personal and professional experience in these three communities. Please give me a call or email me if I can help you with your next purchase or sale of a home. Tim