The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.95% from 7.03% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. The decline, announced a day after the Federal Reserve said it might cut interest rates three times next year now that inflation is cooling, marked the first time since August that long-term mortgage rates dropped under 7%. A year ago, the average rate was 6.31%. It peaked in late October at 7.79%. Falling rates are expected to help would-be homebuyers who have been kept out of the market by high borrowing costs coupled with still-high real estate prices.