The lender revealed that mortgage completions last month were also up by almost half compared to January 2010.

BuildStore said demand in the sector has surged since Housing Minister Grant Shapps pledged the government’s support for the self-build industry at the beginning of the year.

Shapps announced that he intends to remove the complex red tape that gets in the way of self-build projects, as well as dealing with the issues around availability of land and finance.

BuildStore said that, since the announcement, it has seen an increase in new homebuilding projects registered at its National Visitor Centre and a 40% increase in people looking to buy plots of land.

Raymond Connor, chief executive of BuildStore, said: “Over the past 12 months, we have seen signs of the self-build market becoming a more popular alternative and have noted significant demand and interest in the sector, from prospective self builders, lenders and the construction supply chain.

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“The self-build lending sector was not immune from the effects of the credit crunch and recession, but, as these figures show, it is certainly recovering well. We expect this trend will continue, as more people look to move up the property ladder and boost their equity through self build, encouraged by the government’s policy.”

He added that BuildStore would continue to work with lenders to increase funding levels and develop products.