CINCINNATI and SCHAUMBURG, Ill. -

Experian recently determined that the average lease payment originated during the second quarter rose $19 year-over-year to $431.

And consumers appear to have the credit profile to handle such a commitment since Swapalease.com reported that vehicle-lease credit application rates continued to improve in August.

Site officials shared on Tuesday that their August approval rate came in at 72.6 percent, up from the July reading of 71.2 percent.

Swapalease.com noticed that August experienced a higher number of applicants with qualifications that led to more approvals for taking over another person’s lease contract during the month.

The site also mentioned that August generated a slight increase in approval ratings from the numbers posted in the same month last year. That’s when 68.3 percent of lease applicants were approved.

Since January, the lease approval rate has continued to rise, making August the strongest month of the year thus far.

Approval ratings rose from 57.8 percent in January to 70 percent in April, and then experienced a slight decline in May to 67.9 percent. Since June, ratings have increasing again each month.

“We are continually impressed with the increase in number of applicants, as well as with the increase in lease approvals,” said Scot Hall, executive vice president of Swapalease.com.

“The strong economy is certainly helping boost the credit approval rate for lease transfer applicants, but as prices on new vehicles keep rising and incentives continue to fall, we believe a growing number of shoppers will seek alternate channels for their next vehicle, such as the secondary lease transfer marketplace,” Hall went on to say.

And to continue Hall’s point, Experian’s latest data showed an ever-so-slight dip in the volume of leases originated and connected to new vehicles during the second quarter. The Q2 figure was 30.41 percent of all new-model financing. A year earlier, the reading was 30.83 percent.