Readers at Curbed and Brownstoner were up in arms a couple of weeks ago over a $2.5-million listing on Guernsey Street. I have no idea if the asking price is reasonable, but the renovation was nice enough, and the response among the commentariat was over the top.

The history here is pretty typical (the market will decide if the ask is the new normal or not):

But when Mr. Wald, 33, bought the house, at 87A Guernsey Street, three years ago, its Smurf-blue vinyl siding and mustard-yellow aluminum awning were hardly runway material… He ripped off the vinyl and found layers of metal and asphalt siding underneath, on top of what appeared to be the original cedar shingles. He pulled up the linoleum flooring and found a red cedar base. He scoured antiques stores from Rhode Island to Texas, buying up old doors and knobs, funky chandeliers and the like.

The facade is nice, but the shingle job like as not in no way resembles the “original” – it is more beachfront style than any turn of the century Greenpoint row house would have sported.