When Stratham, N.H., was primarily a small farming town, the average cost of a house was about $100,000. But Stratham’s town planner says that between 1990 and 2002, the cost of a home soared to $500,000 as restrictive zoning, wetlands protection and stricter septic system guidelines pumped up the price of land, according to The Exeter Newsletter. As a result, the town is seeing an influx of upper-middle class professionals.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/exeter/08042006/nhnews-e-str-demographics0804.html