CINCINNATI -

Swapalease.com noticed consumers are looking for a specific kind of lease to assume — truck leases with less than eight months remaining on the contract.

Site officials believe this trend is developing because lessees in certain trucks still hold a positive equity position with a few months left in the term.

Swapalease said that compact SUVs and all pickup trucks have held strong pricing positions through the life of their three-year lease terms. The site explained drivers of these vehicles are seeing similar lease-end equity positions felt by drivers of fuel-efficient vehicles three to four years ago when those vehicles were in demand by dealers.

Swapalease executive vice president Scot Hall explained a still-strong used-vehicle market has continued to drive dealer demand for trucks in good condition. Since most leases are less than 3 years old with 36,000 miles or less, Hall noticed dealers are offering aggressive buy-back deals to consumers.

Historically, more than 50 percent of site shoppers look to assume an existing lease with 12 to 18 months remaining on the contract. Swapalease.com has noticed a new trend of shoppers looking for short-term leases for vehicles like the Jeep Wrangler, Nissan Xterra, Cadillac Escalade, Ford Explorer and Toyota Tacoma.

Swapalease contends people take over these short-term leases with the intention of then selling or trading in the vehicle with their local dealer. In many cases, the equity position can be worth anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 above current value.

“It’s always very telling when we see an uptick in demand for certain truck models because trucks are notorious for having lower-than-average lease penetration rates,” Hall said.

“In this case, we believe shoppers are taking advantage of the still-tight inventory environment for trucks in good condition, and leased vehicles are always at the top of that list,” he went on to say.