INCREASED BUYER ACTIVITY SPELLS FEWER CREDIT APPROVALS TO CLOSE OUT 2016

Monthly Lease Credit Approval Rates Decreased by 10.5% in December

Cincinnati, OH (January 18, 2017)

Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, reports car lease credit applicants registered only a 54.2% approval rate for December, a 10.5% decrease from November (64.7%). A year ago, the approvals rate was just 54.5% during the same month, illustrating the end-of-year shopping frenzy that typically takes place.

December’s rate was the lowest credit approval rate the market has seen in the past three years. Throughout the year the lease credit approvals rates have fluctuated from month to month. The best and worst months of the year were February (70.0%) and December (54.2%) respectively. The low rates signal more buying activity overall, not less, which is in line with the current auto sales environment.

“2016 saw its fair share of ups and downs in credit approvals, but despite the volatility we saw an increasing number of volume in buyer activity due to continuous demand for lease takeovers,” said Scot Hall, Executive Vice President of Swapalease.com. “Lower numbers toward the end of the year are a typical seasonal trend that is likely due to an increase in shopping overall. It will be interesting to see where the volatility goes entering the first few months of 2017.”