There’s been a lot of chatter recently in regards to the growing number of lease returns and its impact on used-car prices. It is true that there are a great deal of leases returning – an expected figure near 2.1 million vehicles for 2014 before the year is over, according to Manheim data.

There is a fear, in some minds, that too many lease returns are putting downward pressure on used-vehicle prices.

But that is just a small slice of the story, according to Swapalease.com’s executive vice president Scot Hall.

“It’s easy to point a finger at leasing when it comes to falling car prices simply because there has been a great resurgence in lease deals since the recession,” Hall said. “However, when you go from 10 million SAAR to 16 million SAAR, there’s a great resurgence all around, not just leasing. It’s difficult to congratulate leasing in helping you get to 16 million SAAR and then also say it’s hurting the industry by forcing falling auto prices.”

Swapalease.com also points out several other factors to consider when thinking about the over 2 million vehicles expected to return from their leases this year:

• Between 8-9 million trade-ins, overall, are expected in 2014 (per industry average)
• Leasing, according to previous numbers, will account for just 22.5 percent of vehicles coming back into dealerships this year
• Lease return vehicles (3-year-old) are actually helping to fuel the CPO recovery

What is your outlook on this topic? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @autoremkting.