At least 21,000 houses will need to be built each year for the next three years in order to meet demand.
That's the finding of the housing agency which is releasing its first annual report today examining supply and demand for last year, and outlook for 2015 to 2017.
People also need to move away from the model of the three bed semi.
It says zoned land is capable of accommodating over 400 thousand units across the country, while demand is going to continue to increase in the coming years.
Chairperson of the Housing Agency Conor Skehan says the government need to address the issue of affordability:
"Affordability is all about having the right type of stuff at the right time, and that's why the prices are starting to go up in Dublin. Now we'd a dramatic fall in values and in prices and in rents and they're recovering. So you'd expect a v-shaped curve. Our job is to try and spot whether that v-shaped curve is a continuing upward one, or whether its started to hit a plateau. Evidence is starting to suggest in the Dublin area that it's hitting a plateau, which would be a return to relatively, relatively normal market conditions."
He added that we need to build houses that suit a different demographic:
"We're not talking about people having tiny houses. We're talking about houses with less bedrooms. Let's be clear about that. For smaller units, to recognise the reality that's approaching Ireland very quickly."
