What $4,800 rents you in SF 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: $4,800.

Via Craigslist

Touting views is not a particularly reliable way to stand out when it comes to rentals in San Francisco—after all, almost every block has a sweeping view of downtown or the waterfront. Still, some property owners keep trying, as in the case of this “Miraloma Park view home with two decks and bonus room.” It comes with three beds, one bath, and 1,800 square feet, with fireplace and “access to sunny garden from lower deck.” (How sunny that turns out to be on the west side is, of course, up to the fates, but the optimism is endearing.) And with a price of $4,800 per month, it had better be persuasive too. Garage parking included, but no pets.

Via Craigslist

On the other hand, the Lumina building in South Beach pushes views all of its own, staring out onto the city’s ever-growing skyline. The (dated) marketing copy presses renters to “be one of the first to occupy this luxurious, light, bright, and airy” circa-2015 building. The condo is one-bed and one-bath in the Main Street tower. And like most of these big-ticket buildings, it pours on amenities like a fitness center with a climbing wall, spa facilities, q a landscaped rooftop terrace, an outdoor movie screen, and a separate indoor screening room. It’s $4,800 per month for 880 square feet, but no pets here, either.

The continuing quest to beat the all-white interior trend brings hopeful renters to Sunnyside and this “stunner with large bedrooms, bonus room, deck” just off Stanford Heights. While the habit of painting nearly every wall in a house a different shade was in vogue in the ’90s, here’s a surviving specimen that invites renters to taste the rainbow. It features three beds, one bath, and just over 1,000 feet. Not only are pets allowed here, but it even says so in the headline. Note that the bedroom count includes the “bonus room on garage level.” And it’s all for $4,695 per month, which is stunning in its own right, albeit for different reasons.

Via Craigslist

“Welcome to Windsor, situated in the heart of the historic Dogpatch neighborhood,” says the ad for this loft, which is an interesting bid since Dogpatch is certainly historic but at the same time so are most neighborhoods in the city. The fact that the building specifically advertises itself as pet-friendly is the bigger hook; this two-bed, two-bath, 1,171-square-foot unit with quartz counters, wood-laminate floors, triple-pane windows, and a Juliet balcony cost $4,655 per month. And although the ad angles it toward both “ambitious professionals or an innovative artists,” it doesn’t seem likely many artists would be able to swing that price point. Note that pets add an additional $60 per head to the rent, with a maximum of two onboard.

Finally, an “amazing home awaits” you in the Sunset near 24th and Taraval with the largest offering on offer, a three-bed, two-bath, “fully-detached single-family home [that] has been in family for two generations.” Chances are those previous generations would well congratulate themselves on the purchase if they knew their immediate descendants would soon be making $4,695 per month on the place. This is a classic Sunset setup, complete with deep living room (the house measures 1,500 square feet), fireplace (just decorative these days, sadly), built-ins, and hardwood floors. Cats and dogs both permitted.