Car lease credit applicants registered a 70.9-percent approval rate in October, a slight rise from the September rate of 69.8 percent, according to Swapalease.com. The number of lease approvals is significantly higher than compared to October of 2017, when just 55.6-percent of lease applicants were approved. Another 61.5 percent were approved in October 2016.

The month-to-month increase comes as no surprise, as it follows the consumer credit announcement last week where it was reported that consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted rate of just 3.3 percent in September, down from the 7 percent increase in August, according to Swapalease.com. Nonrevolving credit, which includes auto loans, decreased at an annual rate of 0.4 percent, following a 5.3 percent increase in August.

Lease approvals have been slowly increasing since January, with a slight dip in approvals for the month of May, and again in September. The approval rate was up again in October, and sits just below the highest approval rating of the year, which was 72.6 percent in August. Swapalease.com is benefitting from more car shoppers seeking alternate channels for lease deals, as incentives on leases have decreased at the dealership, according to the company.

“Our lease approval rate continues to hover near market-healthy levels, especially as the continued strong economy helps with lease approvals,” said Scot Hall, executive vice president at Swapalease.com. “We’re continuing to see an influx of applicants who are looking to change vehicles but take advantage of yesterday’s lease deals by taking over an existing contract as opposed to the higher payments they’re being offered at dealerships today.”

Swapalease.com matches a person wanting out of their existing vehicle lease contract with a car shopper looking to take over a short-term vehicle lease. The marketplace has several thousands of cars and trucks available for transfer to anywhere in the continental U.S.