Tony and Jamie Martiniello had been watching the Sydney real estate market for months, waiting for a sign to sell.
With property values in the city's inner-west continuing to climb, the time felt right to put their home on the market -- but they didn't realise the sheer strength of demand for property.
The Martiniellos paid about $650,000 for their two-bedroom home in 2003, when the real estate market was at its peak.
When it goes to auction next month, the cottage is expected to sell for considerably more than $700,000.
Ms Martiniello said she was shocked by the number of buyers interested in their house. "It only went up on the website a few days ago, and I'm told there have been a lot of queries," she said.
Since Friday, the property's realtor has received more than 200 expressions of interest.
"And we haven't even got a sign up yet. That's got to be a good indication, doesn't it?"
Since January, median home values across Sydney have risen by 6.6 per cent to $537,396, according to residential researcher RP Data-Rismark. The national average was 5.9 per cent, to $477,865.
After six years, the family of five has outgrown its Victorian-era cottage in Leichhardt -- the heart of Sydney's Italian quarter.
They are moving to a larger house in Gladesville, in Sydney's leafy northern suburbs.
"We love Leichhardt, and we love that house. Unfortunately, we've just outgrown it. But it's just as lovely as the day we bought it," Ms Martiniello said.
"We wanted to wait for the market to recover before selling."
In Darwin, values have increased a whopping 10.8 per cent since the beginning of the year to a median price of $466,903.
Michael Gore, national chairman of McGees Property, said a property sold by McGees in Darwin's satellite city of Palmerston last Friday had attracted an offer within an hour of being advertised online.
The three-bedroom cottage in the suburb of Gunn sold for $100,000 more than the vendor paid for it two years ago.
Mr Gore said the Darwin price increases had been seen across all suburbs, particularly in the first- home owner bracket. "It is not area specific, it is prices across the board, If you advertise for below $500,000 you need to prepare yourself for a very large open house," Mr Gore said.
"Anything in the mid-400s is considered first-home buyer territory now and if you can find a unit for under $400,000 you are doing well." He said the NT Government had ignored calls for the release of land, and with rent prices rising in line with property prices, affordable housing was now virtually non-existent.
