The head of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) says there is now a shortage of family homes in parts of Ireland.
The body says the property market in Ireland has stabilised and that house prices in urban areas are beginning to tick up again.
However Brendan McDonagh says it is still not profitable to start building new family homes as second-hand housing is cheaper than building from scratch.
While the head of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) Tom Parlon says there will be no new homes built until developers can convince banks to start lending again.
The CIF is also concerned about the wages being paid to construction workers here.
It is going to the Labour Court today seeking a 20% pay cut.
Mr. Parlon says that while tender prices have come down by 30% wages have only fallen by 5% and that that has to change.
Both men were speaking at the CIF conference in Dublin.
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