"People are understandably frustrated they can't find a place to live," Peter Russel, director of Integrity Real Estate Nowra, said.

"We're heading towards an iceberg with the shortage of accommodation. A little two bedroom unit next to the Bowling Club in Bomaderry, nothing flash - 22 people went through that unit and 20 applied.

"These are gold-standard tenants with great rental histories, good incomes. But property managers can only give a property to one applicant."

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Mr Russell said the high demand was in part due to increased flexibility to work from home due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Families and couples are making a sea-change out of Sydney.

He said developments, such as the Nowra bridge work, resulted in companies signing and paying leases up to 12 months in advance for workers.

"Landlords aren't evil people, but you can't blame them for going with it," he said.

Holiday rentals are also booming due to a lack of overseas travel, which also takes homes out of the residential market.

Mr Russell said he could only see one solution.

"We need a fast-tracking of development land that's ready to go," he said.

"People speak on behalf of affordable accommodation, but the only way they become more affordable is for there to be greater supply.

"Medium-density development applications take so long to get approved that developers have been shy of it. In comparison with what you would see in Wollongong and Canberra, developments in Nowra are still a low density.

"A good three-to-four storey building, like the Quest has shown, can be tasteful and provide a lot more accommodation."

He said there was also significant local opposition to higher-density development.

"In the more affluent areas like Berry, Huskisson, Vincentia, nobody wants to see their lifestyle affected by the potential of a larger density living space," he said.

"Everyone wants to see their kids get a house, but no one wants to see the price of their house go down - well one is directly related to the other."