What $1,750 rents you 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: $1,750.

↑ This little studio in the Castro (actually further along Upper Market) bills itself as a pied-a-terre in its Craigslist ad, dubbed a “cozy efficiency” in a “quiet eight-unit Edwardian.” What this all means of course is that it’s just a small place (300 feet and only a few strides from one end to the other) in a distinctive and pretty building that happens to sit at the nexus of several great neighborhoods and as such asks $1,750/month for its modest trappings. “Pets welcome,” the ad says, which is welcome indeed these days.

↑ On the other hand, this Tenderloin studio fancies itself part of the more marketable block in its own ad, also asking $1,750/month for a hideaway of indeterminate but decidedly minor proportions. Nobody much thinks of the Tenderloin as an in-demand neighborhood (although what we’d all do without it is a scary thought not worth brooking), but in this case the landlord pitches the building on O’Farrell street as part of “trendy Little Saigon.” We’ll see if that trend catches on, and it in the meantime it’s a pet-friendly building at the corner of Polk.

↑ Heading down to Crocker-Amazon breaks up the spread of studios a bit with a one bedroom, one bath in-law hidden away in an unassuming looking Athens Street home. The ad says virtually nothing about the place except that it comes with full kitchen, bed, and bath, which does indeed make it one of the largest and most complete San Francisco homes at this price point, which once again is $1,750/month. No mention of pets this round though.

↑ Meanwhile, this Inner Sunset studio is something of a contradiction in terms, in that the ad describes it as a studio but also claims that it has one bedroom. But any potential renter can clear that mystery up with a quick glance, because the whole place is a mere 250 feet from one end to the other. It’s also called both “completely new” and a remodel, which could go either way. In any case, the price for this micro abode is $1,600/month, be it ever so humble. No pets allowed in this one—although really, where would they go?

↑ Finally, this studio on Leavenworth Street in Lower Nob Hill offers the relative price break in the bunch for $1,580/month, and while the landlord offers no measurements up front potential renters get assurance that it’s a “spacious apartment,” which as we’ve seen may be in the eye of the beholder in such matters. The brick-clad 1911 building looks handsome, but the ad does caution “unit is rented as-is,” take that as you will.