AUSTIN, Texas -

As Edmunds spotted four record-setting finance trends surfacing from third-quarter activity, RateGenius reported notable developments when it comes to refinancing existing installment contracts.

The auto refinance provider that has a network of more than 150 finance companies on its platform, announced last week that consumers have saved more per month and annually this year than any other year based on data going back five years.

According to a news release, RateGenius analyzed more than half a million completed, anonymized auto refinance applications made between Jan. 1, 2015 to June 30.

Analysts pointed out that the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates near historic lows since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has trickled down to some of the largest rate spreads and most favorable auto refinancing conditions on record.

RateGenius indicated average refinance interest rates have remained low throughout the year, even softening from last year’s rates.

Analysts went on to mention that the average interest rate spread — the difference between the original contract compared to the refinanced one — also reached an all-time high in 2021 with an interest rate decrease of 6.3%, a metric that has been constantly rising in every six-month increment dating back to the second half of 2018 when it was 4.2%.

RateGenius added that the average monthly savings at the end of June rose above $92, a new all-time high since records began in 2015. Meanwhile, total annual savings from auto refinancing for Q1 and Q2 of 2021 remained above $1,200.

“We’re in the midst of a truly historic time for the auto refinance industry, it’s never been a better time for consumers to consider refinancing their auto loan,” RateGenius chief product officer Christian Lavender said.

“There are several reasons why consumers may have ended up with an unfavorable auto loan,” Lavender continued. “Whether it’s not doing research in advance of purchasing a car, settling with the dealer’s default lender, their credit score has improved, or just bad timing when it comes to interest rates, we offer consumers an opportunity to save considerable amounts of money by providing them access to a network of over 150 lenders nationwide to find a better loan.”