What $3,300 rents in Oakland right now

Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a regular column exploring what you can rent for a set dollar amount in different neighborhoods. Today we head across the bridge to Oakland to find out if one person’s studio another person’s townhouse. Today’s price: $3,300.

Via Craigslist

Oakland loves its Victorians and its lofts just as much as its partner across the bay, but it also has a penchant for Craftsman houses that’s particular to the East Bay. This three-bed, one-bath house in Oakland’s Fairfax neighborhood is billed as “classic Craftsman style,” with built-ins in almost every room, working fireplace, backyard, basement, and an additional note that “the home has the original hardwood floors with the exception of the kitchen and the laundry room.” This is technically a two-and-a-half-bedroom place, with the half bed labeled a study in the ad, but the entire setup measures a spacious 1,550 square feet. The price: $3,200 per month. Despite all the room and quasi-suburban vibes, the ad doesn’t specify whether pets are allowed.

Via Craigslist

A competing single-family house to the north rocks not one but two critical R-words: “Rockridge” and “renovation.” This two-bed, two-bath, 1,300-square-foot home sits right next to the freeway, with double balconies, “vaulted ceiling with skylights,” “secluded private deck,” double sinks, and “bay view sunsets from your living room.” Note that this house is about a stone’s throw away from Rockridge BART Station, although in general BART policy discourages the throwing of stones. No mention of whether or not the fireplace is functional, but they evidently didn’t do away with it during the renovation. It runs $3,300 per month, but tragically no pets allowed even at that price.

Of course, Oakland enjoys a lofty volume of loft spaces too, like this “iron loft” in the Hoover-Foster neighborhood. What’s an iron loft? Evidently, one situated in a former steelworks building, now long since converted into a “spacious, modern, and trendy” setup on Adeline Street—or as the ad puts it, “once and iron and steel industrial space now reincarnated into a special loft unique to Oakland.” The interior boasts “immense open space” that includes “specially placed divider walls and quasi-ceilings” (?). Note that this is deemed a zero-bed, two-bath home, but the sleeping area is tucked up in the loft itself. It’s $3,300 per month. And despite the unforgiving iron and steel facade, this homeowner has a soft spot for pets.

Via Craigslist

Rather than iron, this competing loft in the Acorn District is all about warm woodwork. A bit larger than the previous home at 1,450 feet square, this is a one-bed, one-bath space, a corner unit with “sweeping views” and “creative design and exposed architectural elements,” including the impressive beam work in that ceiling. Though deemed a loft, there is no upper space in this top-floor unit; it’s more like a junior one bedroom, with the sleeping area hiding behind a pair of sliding “barn doors.” The entire building is pet-friendly, and the internet package is free, or more likely already covered by the $3,280 per month rent.

Via Craigslist

Finally, out in the eastern most stretch of East Oakland up against the San Leandro border sits a house on Isleton Avenue renting for $3,250 per month. But apparently not the whole thing, as the ad specifies that it’s a two-bed, one-bath “living space” within a larger four bedroom house, perhaps converted into a duplex or subdivided in some singular but unspecified way. In any case, the remodel mentioned in the headline evidently did its work. Cats are allowed here, but whatever elements were suitable for dogs apparently were lost in the remake.