Home sale prices dropped dramatically in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties from November 2008 through January 2009, when compared to the selling prices of homes for the same period a year earlier.

According to information provided by the Maine Real Estate Information System, selling prices dropped an average of 17.43 percent in Androscoggin County (from an average sale price of $152,000 to $125,500), 17.46 percent in Franklin County (from $131,450 to $108,500) and 31.09 percent in Oxford County (from $171,250 to $118,000), when comparing home sales during the two time periods.

The number of homes sold also declined, going from 149 to 132 in Androscoggin County, 46 to 42 in Franklin County and 108 to 87 in Oxford County, for those three-month time periods.

The price drop in the state was greatest in Washington County, according to the figures, with the average home selling price going from $178,000 to $51,250, with 10 sales comprising each of the two averages.

The highest average home sale price in the state continued to be in Cumberland County, where the average sale price for the three-month period was $220,000, a 9 percent reduction from the same period a year earlier.