Welcome back 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: $5,100/month.
↑ This house on Kenwood Way in the Monterey Heights neighborhood dates to 1929, which must have been a good year for somebody, because just take a look at those Gothic windows in the living room and entryway. The four-bed, two-bath, Spanish style house rents for an even $5,000/month and is parked a few blocks from Mt. Davidson. There's even a small circle court of irregular paving stones out in the backyard. No cats allowed, but dogs "and other pets" are permitted, so this is a big opportunity for all of you ferret owners.
↑ Of course, how old your home isn't always the best measure of its prestige. Except perhaps in the case of this two-bed, one-bath condo in North Beach in an Edwardian building dating to 1912, which we have to admit is quite a beauty. The owner's habit of wallpapering one (but only one) wall in each room adds a certain spark to the place, and the recessed lighting is a rather nice touch too. This one sits right on the Vallejo Street steps, just on the other side of Telegraph Hill, and asks $4,995/month. No word on pets, though.
↑ If your tastes bend more toward new San Francisco than old, you might be interested in this two-bed, two-bath 1,200-square-foot condo in the One Rincon Hill building. Yes, it's one of San Francisco's most audacious buildings, a piece of which is yours for $5,000/month. Say what you want about the high-rise, but once you're inside those floor to ceiling windows really earn their keep, and the building pours it on thick with the South Beach condo amenities, including sky lounge, valet parking, and concierge service. The one thing not included, however, is a safe space for pets.
↑ Bumping the price up a bit, over in the Mission on Harrison you can net a two-bedroom (five rooms in all) apartment in a circa 1900 or so "baby Victorian" (possibly the cutest architectural term this side of the word "folly") for $5,050/month. The landlord throws in the utilities, though, so that extra $50 is basically a wash. There's even an entrance right on Balmy Street, murals and all. Cats and dogs both welcome.
↑ Finally, here's a condo in Hayes Valley with an impressive neighbor in the form of City Hall, the dome of which peeks into seemingly every window in the place, as if it's eavesdropping on you all the time. The potential weirdness of that dynamic notwithstanding, the two bed, two bath pad rents for $5,088/month, dogs and cats both thrown in, along with quartz counters and the usual bevy of new San Francisco housing amenities.