Curbed Comparisons: What $3,100 rents in San Francisco right now

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: $3,100.

↑ Liberty Hill is probably San Francisco’s most dense redoubt of pre-1906 architecture on a per-block basis, which is why the very small neighborhood stands out in the first place. This little one-bath studio on Fair Oaks Street that’s “part of a 100 year old home” has the look of an in-law unit underneath the main house and just off the backyard, but isn’t specifically listed as such. Low ceilings aside, it must be granted this place has a singular style, from the red shutters to the frosted glass wall and diamond tile kitchen. No pets allowed though. The rent here is $3,050/month.

↑ Speaking of classic architecture, who can resist the appeal of a pink Victorian in the Mission? While original Victorians were painted white when new, bright colors later became fashionable in the 1930s and 1940s. This house on Capp Street retains a rosy hue, and upstairs a one-bedroom, one-bath, 700-square-foot flat applies a few unexpected palette decisions of its own, including stained glass bay windows. It’s $3,000/month, although note that the landlord advertises this as a rent-stabilized home.

↑ And in keeping with homes that maintain a style all their own, get a load of this Duboce Triangle building on Castro Street with bricks and a veranda with Roman arch in front, which then gives way to shingles in the back. Note that the extreme angle on the curbside photo is because the nearby trees make it impossible to photograph the place from the street, although the junior one-bedroom, one-bath apartment renting for $3,100/month up top manages to clear them. Pets are allowed, provided they come along to tour the apartment and meet the landlord too. (The ad is very specific about a meet and greet.)

↑ Down in SoMa for $3,000/month comes the case of an apartment that asks renters precisely how much they want to make of the space. Technically, the unit at SoMa Residences features only one bedroom and one bath. There is, however, a loft that could reasonably accommodate a roommate and cut the price down to something resembling reasonable. But do two people really want to split a SoMa home that’s only 565 square feet? Well, this is San Francisco, so the answer is almost certainly yes. The ad doesn’t mention pets, so no telling whether the space will end up subdivided even more.

↑ Finally, here’s a Bernal Heights home that asks what’s in a name? Normally word like “cottage” suggest a certain rustic picturesqueness, or at least the impression of faux-rural charm. In this case, though, it’s just a low-slung, one-bedroom, and one-bath house on Andover Street, right next to the westernmost foot of Bernal Heights Park. Charming enough to rent for $3,000/month? It does allow dogs and cats to come along, which in this market almost qualifies as a fairy tale ending in itself.