Up to 58,000 new housing units are needed in Ireland each year between now and 2027, new analysis has claimed.
The research by Knight Frank also claims that a further 4,000 student beds are required over the same time frame.
Among the 58,000 units needed, the commercial and residential property agency says 32,000 first time buyer or family homes need to be included.
This is in order to meet Ireland's changing demographic provide.
While around 10,000 senior living accommodation units a year are also needed.
The balance should be spread across mature family homes, apartment renters and downsizers, the report suggests.
But Knight Frank says the market in Ireland is not currently evolved enough to meet the scale of those requirements and this needs to change.
Last year, 32,695 new units were completed and the ESRI today predicted that a similar number will be finished this year.
The Government is expected to update housing construction targets soon, amid a general acceptance that output needs to ramp up further beyond what is currently being aimed for.
Knight Frank said there is a need for a major increase in product across all sub-sectors to target different rental cohorts within the private rental sectors.
It also needs to be available to buy across all the living sector categories, the agency said.
The sector has continued to see low levels of investment through the first quarter of the year after experiencing weakness last year.
But the analysis also finds that investment globally is skewed in favour of the living sector and Dublin is seen as a key city in which to invest, meaning investor interest here is expected to rise.
That prediction is echoed in separate research published today by Cushman and Wakefield, which found 80% of investors polled expect their investment in the sector to increase over the next five years.
It also found that 22% of all real estate investment volumes in Europe are now coming from the living sector, up from 6% in 2007.
Just under a fifth of investors said they were drawn to Ireland because of its economic growth outlook, a third cited the favourable demographics, while just under half referred to the tight supply/demand picture.
"It is testament to strong demographic fundamentals that Ireland emerges as a frontrunner for living investment beyond the core European market, with a strong economic outlook," said head of research and insights, Tom McCabe.
"However, it is not without its challenges with investors citing both current rent caps and political interference as barriers to investment despite the otherwise favourable picture."
