What $2,500 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: $2,500.

↑ Size isn’t necessarily the most remarkable thing about a home, but sometimes it’s hard not to remark on the proportions of certain spaces for rent, especially at what would be record-breaking prices in most cities. Consider the tiny size of this South Beach apartment, a one-bath micro-studio that’s no more than 213-233 square feet (the ad references both figures at different points) at 77 Bluxome, all for $2,500/month. Is it worth it? Well, it’s adjacent to CalTrain and hopes to entice tenants with talk of a “French-inspired balcony,” “Euro-style dishwasher,” and “convenient storage solutions” (whatever those may be), so maybe value is in the eye of the beholder, assuming anyone’s eyes can pick out a reference this small. Note that the photos in the ad encompass several similar units. The listing doesn’t specify a pets policy.

↑ By comparison this “cheerful studio” in the Tenderloin’s Hamilton Building looks rather spacious; the ad doesn’t lay out the square footage, but we can confidently assume it’s the larger of the two if only by default. The property manager has also resisted the urge to pass off the coffin-shaped sleeping alcove as a junior one bedroom, so kudos for honesty. Note the shapes meant to echo the Art Deco elements of the building and its lobby. It’s $2,500/month for this space as well, “elegant dressing room,” roof deck, and cat/dog privileges included.

↑ On the other hand, this spot in Cole Valley does call itself a junior-one-bedroom apartment, and it seems to present a bit of a paradox. For one thing, a junior-one-bed place is usually on the conservative side in terms of space. Yet judging from the images, this set-up is big enough for fireplaces in two separate rooms, and there’s even a dining room with built-in cabinetry, but apparently not a full bedroom anywhere on the premises. Whatever the paradoxes of the room arrangements, the deal here remains the same: $2,500/month, and the lease allows for “one cat,” but nothing more than that.

↑ It’s another junior-one-bedroom apartment in this Cow Hollow entry, though this one does look the part. It also looks like a total knockout from curbside at the Union Street locale. The top-floor unit measures 500 square feet and seeks $2,500/month. “Flexible terms,” according to the listing, which in this case means that the $2,500 price applies to long term (six months to a year) renters, while those renting for a month or less may end up paying as much as $100 per day. The place sports hardwood floors and granite counters, but no specifically articulated rules about pets regardless of the duration of your stay.

↑ The final offering, an in-law, stands out on three fronts, first being that it’s the only one at this price point to boast two bedrooms (plus one bath) and the second being that it’s also the most affordable at $2,400/month. And lastly, it lists its location as Little Hollywood, perhaps San Francisco's smallest, most obscure, and least oft-references neighborhood besides Sherwood Forest and as such is a bit of a unicorn in the wilderness in apartment hunting terms.