Ottawa's fiscal watchdog is reporting significant progress in closing Canada's housing affordability gap — but the picture looks very different across the country.

Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques put out an updated housing report Thursday. The report gauges affordability based on the gap between average home prices and what the typical household can afford.

That gap narrowed from a peak of 80 per cent in September 2023 to 34 per cent in August, the report said.

The PBO said cheaper borrowing costs, stronger wages and lower home prices are making it easier for Canadians to afford a home and pay a mortgage.

Home prices peaked in 2022 during the pandemic recovery era but subsequently cooled in many markets after the Bank of Canada rapidly increased its benchmark interes

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