What $5,500 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 is another person’s townhouse? Today’s price: $5,500.

↑ Give it to us straight: How much would you pay to live on the crooked stretch of Lombard Street? Hopefully the answer is at least $5,500/month, because that’s the latest price for 1001 Lombard, a two-bedroom, two-bath condo right on the busiest and most photographed block this side of the Painted Ladies. Note that Lombard Street residents often complain about their famous block, but apparently still feel that others will pay top dollar on a monthly basis for it; the ad promises the place is “designed and furnished for comfortable living,” and “balances elegance and sophistication with fabulous landmark views,” the landmark in this case of course being just out the front door. The lease does allow pets—another swerve, it seems.

↑ Meanwhile, this three-bed, two-bath apartment in the Haight reserves its curveballs for the unit itself. The bottom floor of the two-story apartment is unremarkable, but heading upstairs to the top floor of this Divisadero Victorian reveals “a loft-like great room” that sports “a large skylight and two Victorian dormers” underneath the expanding web of the building’s ceiling structure for a fairly spectacular statement. Both levels come out to 1,500 square feet, and the going rate is again $5,500, pets included this time as well.

↑ As far as design chops go, One Rincon Hill isn’t the city’s strongest suit; from the outside the tower looks like a soaring box of Saltines. Still, all of that elevation pays off in the form of spacious and view-friendly condos like this two-bed, two-bath corner unit on the sixteenth floor, which promises “expansive unobstructed views by day and spectacular city lights by night.” For $5,400 the interiors are barely passable, but the place is evidently leaning on its locale to fill in the rest of the appeal. The ad does not mention whether it permits pets.

↑ For contrast, the Inner Sunset offers a house with grace and a more elegant facade. This three-bed, two-bath house is a treat with highlights like a living room bay; beamed octagonal ceiling; a second, more shallow bay with street-facing windows; and built-ins. Nice touch. Note that the bathrooms come with heated floors and the entire place is 1,300 square feet from front to back and seeks $5,500. Sorry, no pets allowed.

↑ And finally, here’s an apartment in the Mission that speaks for itself. Or at least it had better, because the ad is not in a mood to waste words: “Newer three bedroom, two bath apartment with large outdoor patio area. New paint, new carpet.” And other than a promise of more photos to come that’s all there is to it. Well, that kind of confidence can sometimes lure interest on its own, even perhaps enough for a $5,400 price tag on (once again) three bedrooms and two baths—seemingly an attractive setup at this price.