Villa Charlotte Bronte is seeing a flurry of listings

Three rare listings have piled up at The Bronx’s own Italian-inspired villa.

For decades, onlookers have stood at the gates of Villa Charlotte Bronte and wondered what it might be like to live inside the iconic co-op.

Listings at the nearly 100-year-old complex have been historically scarce — but the tides appear to the turning.

Three of the riverside retreat’s 17 units have hit the market in a row, according to records. Available units include a three-bedroom for $1.24 million, a two-bedroom for $949,000 and a one-bedroom for $649,000.

“Usually this does not happen,” Linda Justus, a longtime broker for the co-op’s property manager, Robert E. Hill, told The Post. 

“There are years when you cannot find one property [at Villa Charlotte Bronte].” 

Located on a cliffside along the Hudson River, the Sputyen Duyvil co-op is often compared to a Tuscan villa, with its ivy-covered walls, peaked rooftops and arched stairways that the New York Times once likened to M.C. Escher’s labyrinthian designs. Its sunken courtyard even features a cave-like alcove called the grotto.

The building, constructed in 1926 when much of Riverdale was still farmland, was the brainchild of a local lawyer, John Jay McKelvey, who had a love of European architecture and a reported distaste for the rest of New York City.

The uptick in activity over the past year is an outlier in the co-op’s otherwise sleepy sales history. The enclave saw three deals over the course of 2024, and another $915,000 two-bedroom sold in January. Their monthly maintenance fees range between $1,461 and $2,237, according to StreetEasy.

Before 2024, recorded sales were few and far between, with the most recent sale taking place in 2021. The four years between 2016 and 2020 saw a complete dry spell of listings, according to records.

Brokers familiar with the property told The Post that the recent listing boost is part of a natural turnover. Such hotspots of market activity within tightly-held, historic co-ops aren’t uncommon, even at the most coveted addresses. 

“People are getting older or want a different way of life, and they’re moving,” Justus said. 

One of the recent listings involved young parents, selling to be closer to their family. Another, The Post learned, is an elderly resident moving out after nearly two decades. 

More frequent listings and slower sales could also be tied to changing buyer preferences – most of the bucolic residences are accessed by arched stairways, and the co-op’s units all vary in size and condition.

But insiders agree that a home there remains a rare asset, which is often held on to for decades. With its unique facade, large interior spaces, sweeping river views and 40-minute commute to Grand Central, Villa Charlotte Bronte has few peers.

It was made all the more precious after the destruction of its sister villa, the 7-unit Villa Rosa Bonheur, in 2021. The 1924-era development along Palisade Avenue was razed by developers to make way for a new rental building, The Henry.

Bill and Rebecca Sherman, the brokers behind two of the current listings, are also longtime residents of the Villa.

“We’re in New York, a stone’s toss from Manhattan, and you feel like you’re a million miles away,” said Bill.

The Shermans are complimented by the attention their co-op receives, they said. Rebecca said she even helps take family’s pictures outside the gates, especially during graduation season.

“There’s a rumor going around that we have a yacht club, a wine cellar and a cafe,” said Bill Sherman. “I wish!”

A $915,000, two-bedroom home Justus sold earlier this year went to Riverdale locals who had always admired the Villa. When the opportunity came along, she said, they took it.

“People walk by it and say, ‘Oh, I wish I could live there,’” she said.