What $5,900 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: $5,900.

↑ No matter what happens, the electric blue shingles on this Inner Richmond apartment on Lake Street are earning it major points before anyone even knocks on the door. And although the ad neglects to talk it up much, the backyard and its beautiful mosaic of patio tiles is likely to send heart rates racing as well. It’s a two-bed, one-and-a-half-bath place pegged at about 1,400 square feet end to end, “a 100-year-old remodeled home with period details, high ceilings and hardwood floors, [...] great amenities.” It’s immediately south of the Presidio Golf Course, asking $5,750/month, and permits dogs.

↑ Although the Outer Richmond doesn’t get nearly as much love as its partner closer to 19th Avenue, in this case the farthest reaches of the neighborhood south of Lands End and right on the hedge of Sutro Heights Park are giving the house to the east a run for its money in the form of a “classic, must-see Sutro Heights home.” It’s a two-bed, two-bath house near 48th and Geary, a 1930s single-family home with “brand new kitchen with gorgeous cherry wood cabinets [and] granite counters” along with “vaulted ceilings, decorative fireplace” in the living room, not to mention one beautiful baroque window. This one is $5,900/month and the ad doesn’t mention pets.

↑ Mint Plaza can always stake a claim to being a reimagined classic in and of itself. It’s currently offering a two-bed and one-bath apartment for $5,895/month. The ad bills the place as an “XXL live or work space,” but measuring at roughly 1,130 square feet, it’s a bit smaller than at least one of the aforementioned Richmond homes. Then again, SoMa living operates on different standards than the western neighborhoods. “High ceilings, 12 foot-plus with custom lighting and a bank of large double hung windows adds to the allure,” according to the ad, but in the next paragraph the measurements for the ceilings come in at 11 feet and 6 inches. Huh. In either case, the fact that both cats and dogs are allowed may be the greater allure.

↑ The remodel bug moves to the Inner Sunset for the next listing, a mammoth four-bed, three-bath, 2,300-square-foot house on 18th Avenue and Quintara charging an almost equally mammoth $5,750/month. That price buys you skylights, remodeled kitchen, vaulted ceiling, and wood burning fireplace plus fruit trees in the back. Lovely. No word about pets, but “we can show the house any time on the weekend or weekday evenings” so maybe that’s a good time to ask.

↑ And finally, the big selling point for the last apartment is “exceptional Nob Hill Luxury” at 821 Mason featuring wainscoting, hardwood floors, high ceilings, bay windows, leaded glass windows, fireplaces, and crown moldings. It’s also located across the street from the Mark Hopkins Hotel—all of it for $5,900/month. Curiously, the ad does not specify any kind of room count for the apartment, instead offering a riddle by saying only that it’s big enough for “max occupants two plus child.” Which would actually be three occupants, but who’s counting? Also of note, the seafoam green subway tiles in the kitchen are a thing of beauty.