As GlobeSt.com previously reported, a 10.7% jump in demand for environmental property reports ordered during first-quarter 2012 was a sign to environmental consultants that the national real estate markets are well on the road to recovery. Property buyers and lenders nationally ordered 49,355 Phase I Environmental Site Assessments in the first quarter, as compared to 44,599 in the first quarter of 2011, according to EDR. Based on this increase in ESAs, experts have said that the nation should see stronger volumes in real estate transactions in the coming months.

“There is a strong correlation between the real estate lending and Phase I ESA reporting,” Joseph P. Derhake, president of Partner, said in a prepared statement. “Phase I ESAs are ordered when there is a serious intent to arrange financing for an acquisition or to recapitalize an asset. Over the past several years, we’ve seen first-hand how illiquidity impacts commercial real estate. Increasing volumes of ESAs means more capital is flowing back into the market. If the past is prologue, we should see a continuing increase in commercial and multifamily originations through the end of the year.”

According to Partner, approximately 70% of its orders for ESAs were from traditional lenders, with 22% from agency lenders such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD and SBA. CMBS lenders accounted for 7% of ESA volume.

Among the 50 major metropolitan markets with the highest Phase I ESA volume for the current quarter, Long Island, NY, showed the greatest growth rate with a 54% increase in the number of ESAs over the previous quarter, with Northern California’s San Francisco and San Jose rounding out the top three. Other markets in the top-10 highest growth of Phase I ESAs for the quarter were Norfolk, VA; Austin, TX; Washington, DC; Columbus, OH; Charlotte, NC; Cleveland, OH; and New York, NY.