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The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage edged higher this week to just above its 2025 low. The average long-term mortgage rate rose to 6.16%, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. Thats up slightly from 6.15% last week, when the average rate dropped to its lowest level since October 3, 2024. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.93%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, rose this week to 5.46% from 5.44% the previous week. A year ago, it averaged 6.14%, Freddie Mac said. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserves interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. The 10-year yield was at 4.17% at midday Thursday. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has been mostly holding steady in recent weeks since Oct. 30 when it dropped to 6.17%, which at the time was its lowest level in more than a year. Mortgage rates began easing in July in anticipation of a series of Fed rate cuts, which began in September and continued last month. The Fed doesnt set mortgage rates, but when it cuts its short-term rate that can signal lower inflation or slower economic growth ahead, which can drive investors to buy U.S. government bonds. That can help lower yields on long-term U.S. Treasurys, which can result in lower mortgage rates. All told, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ended last year nearly a percentage point lower than at the start of 2025, helping boost home shoppers purchasing power toward the end of the year. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose on a monthly basis in September, October and November. Still, even with long-term mortgage rates holding near their 2025 low point, sales in November slowed compared with a year earlier for the first time since May and ended the month on pace to finish the year down from 2024. December existing home sales data are due out next week. The recent pullback in mortgage rates has been helpful for home shoppers who can afford to buy at current rates. The median U.S. monthly housing payment fell to $2,365 in the four weeks ending January 4, according to Redfin. That’s a 4.7% drop from the same period a year earlier. While lower mortgage rates can help boost how much homebuyers can afford, the housing market remains out of reach for many aspiring homeowners, after years of soaring home prices and lackluster wage growth. First-time buyers have had it particularly tough, because they dont have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase. Uncertainty over the economy and job market are also keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines. Economists generally forecast that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage will remain slightly above 6% this year. Alex Veiga, AP business writer
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Jan. 26 marks the official start date of the 2026 tax filing season, when the IRS will begin accepting and processing 2025 tax returns. April 15 is the filing deadline. Tax experts, including the IRS independent watchdog, have warned that this year’s filing season could be hampered by the loss of tens of thousands of tax collection workers who left the agency through planned layoffs and buyouts spurred by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The IRS will also be responsible for implementing major provisions of Republicans’ tax and spending package signed into law last summer. Several provisions in the law retroactively affect the 2025 tax year, likely leading to more questions from taxpayers and requiring the IRS to update tax forms. President Trump is committed to the taxpayers of this country and improving upon the successful tax filing season in 2025, said acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent in a news release. I am confident in our ability to deliver results and drive growth for businesses and consumers alike. The IRS expects to receive roughly 164 million individual income tax returns this year, which is on par with what it received last year. The latest National Taxpayer Advocate report to Congress published in June states that the IRS workforce has fallen from 102,113 workers at the end of the Biden administration to 75,702. The IRS website does not include the latest employment numbers on the agencys workforce. IRS employees involved in last year’s tax season were not allowed to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until after the taxpayer filing deadline of April 15, 2025. The June National Taxpayer Advocate report to Congress warned that the 2026 season could be rocky. With the IRS workforce reduced by 26% and significant tax law changes on the horizon, there are risks to next years filing season, said Erin M. Collins, who leads the organization assigned to protect taxpayers rights. Fatima Hussein, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
The crisp crinkle of fallen leaves beneath your feet. The swish and trickle of water moving through a stream. A breath of crisp, fresh air. Spending time in nature can be invigorating or produce feelings of peace and calm. But many professions allow little time or access to the outdoors during the workday. After a youth spent climbing trees and playing soccer, Anna Rose Smith found it difficult when her first job as a psychotherapist in Utah required working in a windowless office. So she spent her lunch breaks outside, walking to nearby fountains or gardens. She picked up flower petals or leaves from the ground and brought them back to her desk, where she would listen to recorded bird songs, sometimes incorporating the soothing chirps into sessions with clients. It helps to just have that reminder that these things are going on outside, Smith said. I can remember, no matter what happens in this room or with my job today, theres still going to be birds singing. Getting to trees or shorelines can be challenging during work hours, especially in cold weather and urban environments. But there are ways to enjoy the outdoors and to bring the natural world into your place of work, even if it’s a windowless cubicle. Al fresco meetings Scheduled meetings don’t have to take place indoors. An in-person appointment can happen on a park bench. Smith sometimes suggests a walk and talk meeting at a nearby greenway. Mobile devices mean virtual get-togethers also aren’t limited to conventional work spaces. You can also attend Zoom meetings while walking a woody path. Smith will ask if she can participate in an online meeting with her smartphone and headphones, allowing her to still be able to get sunlight on my face or see water and plants and birds, she said. I do definitely feel more calm, Smith, who grew up in South Dakota but now lives in a more moderate climate in North Carolina, said. I think it helps with focus as well. Im just feeling more peaceful and optimistic. Atlantic Packaging, a sustainable packaging manufacturer headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, encourages employees to hold meetings in the courtyards of its facilities or while taking a walk, said Becca Schusler, the company’s wellness director. The company added fig trees and native plants to its Charlotte location. It launched a nature challenge in 2024 in which employees tracked the time they spent outdoors while dog walking, eating meals, attending meetings, or watching a sunset. Participants uploaded photos into a group chat from their workstations around the U.S. It was just so wonderful because we got sunrises in the mornings, sunsets at night from all different areas, from the beach to the mountains in Nevada,” Schusler said. Some employees reported they felt like they handled stress better as a result of spending more time outside, she said. Just walk Separate from meetings, a group of Atlantic Packaging employees get together for Walk it out Wednesdays, a weekly time to take strolls together. It helps provide a quick break in the day where they can reset and refocus,” Schusler said. The Ford Motor Company also has encouraged employees to move outdoors. When it redesigned its Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters in 2025, the automaker included native plants, walking paths, and outdoor pavilions, and suggested people use the grounds for meetings. The parking lot was put further away from the main building by design so people would walk for a few minutes by tall grasses, rocky outcroppings, bridges, and flowers. We are very careful about how we are engineering space so that our brains and our bodies react positively, said Jennifer Kolstad, Ford’s global and brand design director. Designing for human health is our priority, our responsibility. Find the light When temperatures dip and more time is spent indoors, windows can provide a connection with nature. The designers who laid out Ford’s new headquarters placed offices in the center of floors so exterior walls with tall windows could be enjoyed by everyone in collaborative spaces, Kolstad said. During Smith’s windowless office days, she kept a pothos plant in the room. The greenery didn’t need much light and survived with the dose it got when Smith moved it to spend weekends in a colleague’s office that had a window. If its really ugly weather, extreme, then I think thats where windows are truly a godsend, she said. To catch some sunshine and feel the wind on your face during a commute, consider biking all or part of the way. Many cities and towns have bicycle sharing programs. A warm coat and mittens can keep you from getting too cold while pedaling. Layer up with a neck gaiter, balaclava or hat under your helmet. Erin Mantz, who works in Washington, D.C., as vice president of marketing for public relations firm Zeno Group, walks to a Pilates class before work four times a week, often before the sun rises. On the days she works from home, she takes breaks to walk her dog on the meandering paths in her neighborhood. Mantz said that as a child living in Chicago, she often played at the park with neighborhood friends while bundled up in winter gear. She found it difficult to maintain her connection with nature when she had prior jobs that called for working in an office full-time. Growing up Gen X, we were always running around outside, and you have that great feeling of freedom and fresh air, she said. Now that she has a hybrid work schedule, she’s realized that spending time outdoors helps her feel relaxed and destressed. It’s so good for me, Mantz said. The fresh air reminds me of that youthfulness of being outside, and I think its physical and mental, honestly. I feel reinvigorated. ___ Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow APs Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https://apnews.com/hub/be-well Cathy Bussewitz, Wellness Writer
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