CINCINNATI — Swapalease.com executives believe continuing price climbs for used vehicles should bode well for transaction traffic at its site and leasing in general.

They first mentioned CNW Research data that indicated used-vehicle transaction prices rose almost 7 percent when compared to the same period in 2009. The site then noted price declarations from Black Book that revealed a 35-percent price increase for the Chevrolet Malibu and a 24-percent jump for the Honda Accord.

Furthermore, Swapalease.com contends certified pre-owned sales have moved about 8 percent higher than a year ago.

As prices have gone up, the site counters the supply of used vehicles is also dwindling, further strengthening the market for lease activity.

Swapalease.com executives think supplies are less since manufacturers cut production in reflection to market forecasts while generous incentives and last year's Cash For Clunkers program further eroded new-vehicle inventories.

"This combination of fewer pre-owned units being available coupled with lower new-vehicle inventories has forced prices upward with more consumers competing for a smaller pool of vehicles," Swapalease.com stated.

"In addition, the availability of credit to a wider array of automotive buyers as financial markets recover is increasing competition as well," the site added.

The combination of factors has Scot Hall, the executive vice president of operations at Swapalease.com, thinking that leasing activity is bound to strengthen.

"Historically, leasing companies have been able to set lower lease payments on new cars when pre-owned vehicle demand is strong. This demand allows lenders to use higher residual values in their calculation," Hall explained. "This is due to lessors utilizing higher residual values which decreases the amount of depreciation in the lease calculation.

"Less depreciation will often offset the higher original vehicle sales price ultimately saving the leasing consumer money every month through lower payments," Hall concluded.