Bronxville: Picture-Perfect Houses, Hard-to-Beat Commute to Manhattan

For its walkability within a one-square-mile "village," postcard-perfect houses and streets, and proximity to Manhattan, Bronxville has become a go-to neighborhood for many leaving New York’s five boroughs.

Boundaries

Bronxville is a village unto itself inside the town of Eastchester, located in southern Westchester County, just 15 miles from Midtown Manhattan.  It's bordered by Tuckahoe to the north, Mount Vernon to the south, Yonkers to the west and Eastchester to the east. The Bronx River Parkway is the westernmost boundary, and Siwanoy Club Way (where there's a golf course) is the easternmost.

Price range

For this New York City suburb with a population of 6,500, prices range from $688 per-square-foot to $1,289 a square foot, says Valmarie Zorila, a licensed associate real estate broker at Houlihan Lawrence, a real estate agency in Bronxville.  Single-family homes with large outdoor spaces and five or more bedrooms usually fetch well over $3 million.The highest-priced home currently on the market: An 11,000-square-foot Tudor-style home on an unusually large two-acre parcel listed at $13.75 million.

Housing stock

Single-family homes account for 60% of the housing in this hilly town, while co-ops, condos and apartments account for the remaining 40%. There are a variety of architectural styles and historically significant homes here, ranging from Tudors and colonials to Mediterranean- and Victorian-style homes. You’ll also find luxury co-ops. "If you don’t want to spend $10 million for an apartment in Manhattan, you can buy a classic-eight here for $2 million," Ms. Zorila says.

What makes it unique

With the feel of a New England town and a 28-minute ride to Manhattan via an express train, Bronxville homes are in high demand. "Right now, we’re seeing a lot of young executives with one or two children looking to buy homes here," says Diane Hackett, a licensed associate real estate broker at Houlihan Lawrence, a real estate agency in Bronxville. "They tend to be 30-somethings moving from Brooklyn, who may have school-age children and don’t want to pay $150,000 per year in private school tuition but also want their kids to have the city-like experience of walking to school."

More:Live in a French Manor—in Bronxville, New York

Bronxville schools are such a big draw that about 95% of kids in town are enrolled in public schools. And thanks to a school foundation created in 1991, special programs and curriculum innovation are a given. For those who want to send their kids to private schools, Masters School in Dobbs Ferry and The Ursuline School (for girls) in New Rochelle are located nearby.

Luxe amenities

With walkability comes a vibrant town center that features a multitude of cafes and restaurants as well as mom-and-pop stores, including local favorites Womrath Bookshop and Topps Bakery. The main "chains" in town to date: Blue Mercury, J. McLaughlin and Starbucks.

Who lives there now

While CEOs and Wall Streeters tended to popularize Bronxville decades ago, the town now appeals to those working in a variety of fields, from real estate and medicine to media and marketing.

Notable residents

"Morning Joe" co-anchor Mika Brzezinski; Deborah Turness, president of NBC News.

Outlook

Regardless of economic shifts, this is one town that’s very insulated from overall market fluctuations, with home sales averaging between 50 and 60 per year. "Our meat and potatoes are homes between $2.5 and $3 million," Ms. Hackett says.

People tend to stay here, too. "We’ve found that parents will raise their kids here, and when they’re grown, buy an apartment in town so they can still enjoy Bronxville and walk to the train when they want to go into the city," Mr. Zorila says. "Their kids might grow up and leave, but they’ll still stay."

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