NEWTON, Mass. (AP) – A Boston suburb that once represented families of varying incomes has become filled with homes that exceed $1 million, reflecting a nationwide trend of soaring real estate values.

The median price for a home in Newton was $647,000 for the first 10 months of the year compared to the 1997 median price of $350,000, The Boston Globe reported on Saturday. Of the 192 single-family homes listed this week, 39.6 percent exceeded $1 million, the MLS Property Information Network reported. Many had asking prices from $2.3 million to $4.8 million.

Buyers are willing to pay the price because of Newton’s notable school districts, public transportation and “hometown feeling with the benefits of a big metropolis,” said Janet Edsall, a lifelong Newton resident and broker-owner of Re/Max First Realty Inc.

Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren argued that families are desperate to save their children from failing urban schools even if it means driving up home prices and taking on more mortgage debt to live in an expensive community.

“Families are willing to pay anything to buy their way into the best public schools, and it’s driving up home prices dramatically,” said Warren, co-author of “The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers & Fathers Are Going Broke.”

Real estate experts say the high real estate prices could explain why many homes have remained on the market longer. The average time a Newton home is on the market for this year has been 100 days compared to 63 days last year.

“Teachers, police and firefighters can no longer afford Newton due to the high cost of living,” said Aaron Gornstein, executive director of the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association. “Today, the most likely new residents are doctors, lawyers and executives of financial services institution.”

Homes worth $1 million or more are the fastest growing segment of the nation’s housing market, according to a survey that will be published next month by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

Part of the real estate price surge is due to limited supply and great demand in places like the Northeast and California, the study said.

The largest concentration of million-dollar homes is in California. There, 2.3 percent of the homes are valued at $1 million or more. Connecticut is third with 1.91 percent of million-dollar homes and up. Massachusetts ranks fifth with just under 1 percent, according to the U.S. Census.

AP-ES-11-29-03 0525EST