Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a regular column exploring what you can rent for a set dollar amount in different neighborhoods. Is one person's studio another person's townhouse? Let's find out. Today's price: $4,000.
↑ Round one is a one bedroom, one bath, 1,000-square-foot house in the Castro that just barely slides in under our price ceiling at $3,990/month. Here you're looking at maple floors, French doors (two pair), an all-marble bath, a 700-square-foot deck, and a black granite fireplace. The garden looks almost suspiciously well groomed in the photos, and, oh yes, you're only two blocks from Dolores Park. Rent covers cable and wi-fi as well. The only possible catch: no word about pets.
↑ At the uppermost strata of how much space you can get in the city for $4,000/month comes a three-bedroom, one-bath house down in Crocker-Amazon. It comes with 1,440 square feet; a backyard with brick patio; formal dining room (presumably meaning one must wear a tie to breakfast?); and plantation shutters covering newly installed, double-pane windows. The house is roughly equidistant from San Bruno Mountain and John McLaren Park. No pets here either, though. Alas.
↑ Here's a one-bedroom, 1.5 bath house at the sweet spot of 28th and Noe in Noe Valley, offering over 1,000 feet for $4,000/month, with much of that space being a wide-open front-of-the-house floor plan. Also advertised is a "bonus room" (a room you can only enter if you've got the house's high score, perhaps?). The house dates back to 1910. Also, we're intrigued by the bottom-floor alcove. Cats and dogs both permitted.
↑ Of course, we have to let SoMa condos have their due. This time it's a $3,950/month Lumina unit, 890 square feet with one bedroom, one bath, and a kitchen that the listing agent seems really proud of, as pictures of it make up nearly 50 percent of the ad. As usual with these très trendy Mid-Market buildings, it's the amenities that rope you in: rooftop terrace, dining club, formal library, gym, private theater, spa, pet grooming station, playroom for the kids, and even a music recital room. Heck with the condo, can we just move into the lobby? Pets are a go.
↑ Finally, a duplex on Potrero Hill that advertises that it has thus far never had a tenant, making it the one listing today that we can be absolutely certain is not haunted. So, you know, there's that. Also of note is that the pad is on the same block as the starting line of the annual Big Wheel Race. As for the unit itself, it's two bedrooms and one bathroom for $3,800/month, with walk-in closets and a welcoming attitude toward felines.