Sister websites Swapalease.com and Wantalease.com recently shared their latest data connected with users getting approved for contract transfers, as well as how monthly payments are trending.

Beginning first with what Swapalease reported, site officials said applicants for lease credit registered an approval rate of 72.9% in March, representing a slight increase from the 70.8% approval mark in February. 

The March reading also was higher than the same time last year when the approval rate was at 69.3% right at the beginning of the pandemic.

Swapalease explained the steady, incremental increase indicates consumer credit levels are also holding steady as many households continue to receive stimulus relief provided by the government.  

“As opposed to consumer borrowing, many are utilizing stimulus checks to pay down debt. With consumers reigning in their credit usage as well as lowering revolving debt, Americans have more confidence to go out and shop for a new vehicle,” site officials said.

Meanwhile, Wantalease indicated that many lease payments are holding steady from March to April with commitments for compact cars, full-size cars and large pickups all maintaining their previous levels while payments for many luxury brands softened.

However, Wantalease did notice that lease payments for certain small pickup and small SUV brands increased.

The largest decreases arrived among luxury models, including:

— Infiniti Q50: down 10.04% at $329 per month

— BMW 530i: down 6.65% at $479 per month

— Mercedes-Benz E 350 4MATIC: down 4.31% at $569 per month.

Conversely, jumping the most month-over-month was the Toyota RAV4 (up 26.52% to $289 per month), followed by the Ford Escape (up 19.62% to $373 per month).

“This was a very interesting month for many luxury car brands as they decreased their lease payments significantly,” said Scot Hall, executive vice president of both Swapalease and Wantalease.

“It looks like we’re starting to see some payment increases for many vehicle segments that are in high demand and low supply at the dealerships,” Hall continued. “Despite this, the payments listed on our marketplace remain lower than what people are finding through traditional channels today.”

Currently, the site said both the Honda Civic and the Ford Focus are priced the lowest of all leases coming in at just $159 per month. The Nissan Sentra leasing rate continues to hold steady from the previous month and is listed at $169 per month.

Two other models had their lease payments drop, according to Wantalease.com. They were the Nissan Altima (down 11.96% to $205 per month) and the Subaru Legacy (down 5.57% to $199 per month).

Whether the leaseholder has a Ford, BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Toyota, Swapalease.com believes many of its site visitors and vehicle shoppers have solid credentials available to take over a person’s vehicle lease.

Hall pointed out the inclination to have more flexibility in leasing through economic uncertainly may contribute to an increase in shoppers looking to lease vehicles through the secondary market — where lease payments are many times more appealing than what’s offered at a dealership. 

“Credit strength continues to grow due to the stable figures maintained throughout the third and fourth quarters and we believe, in the short term, this will only continue,” Hall said.

“Because Americans are either saving or paying down debt with their government stimulus money, consumer credit confidence will ultimately continue to grow leading to larger spending in future quarters,” he went on to say.