Hodge has witnessed a 10% rise in the number of customers who are using funds from a 50+ mortgage to make improvements to their homes.

In the this quarter of this year, 22% of customers who took out a 50+ mortgage with Hodge said that they were using the money to improve their homes, compared with just 12% in the three months previous (April, May and June).

The data also revealed that the number of applicants using funds to give a family member a financial gift had halved in the last three months – with 10% doing so in quarter two of this year, compared with 5% for the past three months.

Emma Graham (pictured), business development director at Hodge, said: “It’s great to see that the 50+ mortgage remains a popular product that clients are finding useful for all sorts of financial reasons.

“The uptake in the number of customers using 50+ and our RIO products to make home improvements in the past year just goes to show how homeowners are using the funds and the flexibility of these products to improve their surroundings and make them work better for them at this stage of life.

“What is good to see from this data is that customers are using our products for different reasons at different times and stages of their lives – from family gifts when times are tight, to refurbishments when they are spending more time at home.”