The ESRI say the government need to double its annual investment on home-building to prevent a lack of supply for years to come.
About €2bn is spent by the state every year, delivering around 9,000 new homes.
But the think-tank says that should be increased to €4bn.
Research professor Kieran McQuinn says more investment's needed.
"At the moment you have an imbalance of somewhere in the region of 15,000-20,000 units, between the amount that's actually demanded in the economy and the existing supply level.
"We feel that the private sector seems to struggle to scale up to meet the required level of housing output, and we feel that the government really has to step up and play a more dynamic role."
