Photo courtesy of Metro-North

The latest estimates from economists at brokerage and listings portal Redfin say the suburban New York City housing market is bucking a national trend.

While most of the nation’s housing markets overwhelmingly favor buyers right now, and New York City and New York’s Westchester County, combined, are in a balanced market, Redfin’s economists said three of New York City’s four other suburban housing markets are among the nation’s strongest seller’s markets.

The brokerage’s report used estimates of how many sellers were active in a market compared to how many buyers. Redfin economists estimated the number of buyers using proprietary data on the typical amount of time between a buyer’s first home tour and closing, along with MLS data on active listings and pending sales. The estimated number of sellers was derived from the number of active MLS listings. The estimates are seasonally adjusted.

Redfin economists found buyers outnumber sellers by 36 percentage points on Long Island, nearly 21 percentage points in northern New Jersey and almost 13 percentage points in central New Jersey.

The Redfin report did not include Connecticut’s Fairfield County or other Connecticut metros that attract many commuter homebuyers, but said New York City’s draw continues to drive demand in its suburbs.

“I’m seeing multi-generational buyers looking to purchase single-family homes so they can live with their families,” Sandra Glaser, a Long Island-based Redfin agent, said in a statement released with the analysis. “A lot of these buyers are immediate families that have kids in the mix and are looking to have built-in childcare at home as well as multiple earners under the same roof. That allows them to buy a house they might not have been able to afford on their own.”

In Jersey City and other submarkets more closely connected to Manhattan, though, the picture is more nuanced.

“If you’re looking for a super-desirable single-family home in the suburbs, it’s a seller’s market,” Natasha Bartolomeo, a northern New Jersey Redfin agent, said in a statement released with the analysis. “But if you’re looking for a condo in Jersey City or surrounding towns close to Newark, there is more inventory.”