In December last year Homes Tasmania was established, which was tasked with delivering the government's promised 10,000 social and affordable homes.

Since then, the housing crisis has only worsened as cost of living pressures tightened their grip on families, interest rates continued to rise and house prices reached new record levels.

At the opening of a new homelessness shelter in Devonport on Wednesday, December 13, Housing Minister Nic Street said the government was continuing to invest in services to address the crisis.

University of Tasmania welfare and policy researcher Kathleen Flanagan said the government's promise was welcomed and came "close to the ambition necessary" to address the state's housing and homelessness crisis.

However, that is only if the majority of the 10,000 homes are social housing and not affordable housing, which are differentiated by how affordable they actually are for the poorest Tasmanians.

"If you're reliant on welfare, affordable housing is not affordable," Dr Flanagan said.

"We need to get the focus on those who are right at the bottom of the market, for whom this is a recent crisis."

She said that based on 2016 census data, Tasmania needed 11,000 new homes to overcome the housing crisis, so 10,000 homes was a strong promise, but by 2032 it would not be sufficient.

"It felt like they were finally recognising the scale of the problem," Dr Flanagan said.

"If there's any slippage away from bricks and mortar social housing we lose the potential to make a real impact."

Mr Street said 1374 houses had been completed between November 2022 and November 2023, and that "at least" 2000 of the 10,000 homes will be social housing properties.

He said the government was delivering on its long-term plan, and that he was "proud" that it was making a significant difference to address the housing challenge.

Labor has also committed to the promise of 10,000 homes by 2032, and leader Rebecca White confirmed the policy would be adopted if her party is in government after the next election.