What $3,400 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 another person’s townhouse? Today’s price: $3,400.

New leasing is happening Waterbend, the Bayview townhome development, completed in 2016, on Third Street. Here you will find a two-bed, one-bath apartment measuring less than 800 square feet for $3,400 per month. The unit includes stainless finishes, hardwood floors, quartz counters, and washer and dryer. The ad also dangles the Bayview locale itself as a selling point—including the fact that 7 Stills and Laughing Monk are right across the street. Another bonus: the offer includes pets.

If this somewhat funky loft at 6 Mint Plaza looks familiar, it’s not deja vu; this exact same unit popped up on Comparisons this week. But as soon as it did, it immediately dropped its asking price, so here it is again. Granted, the discount is a mere $100, down to $3,400, but every bit helps. It’s a one-bed, one-bath, 600-square-foot home. It includes distinctive finishes and surfaces, like the acid-stained floors, concrete walls, translucent glass partitions, and glossy lacquered cabinets. Pets are included in the deal.

Speaking of lofts, it’s admittedly hard to get past the intrusive seismic beams right smack in the middle of this one, located on 25th Street at the edge of Potrero Hill. Of course, there’s good clearance on those, and the ceilings are high, so it’s not exactly going to be in the way—it’s more of a question of whether you consider it an intrusion or a conversation piece. In either case, the home costs $3,400 per month. This is another refreshingly pet-friendly unit with just over 1,000 square feet for room to play. And since it’s a live/work space, it comes with two bathrooms and just one bedroom.

A few blocks north in Dogpatch, this competing loft on Minnesota Street banks on a much sunnier disposition—not just in terms of the factory windows facing east, but in its slightly more open design. The top-floor unit for rent measures a bit less than 760 square feet and comes with one bed and one bath. Originally built in 1937, this building first served as a cannery before switching over to a live/work setup decades ago. No dogs allowed here, but cats at least get to explore the eaves at $3,375 per month.

Finally, if loft living is just too rough around the edges, a Scott Street apartment with bay windows rents for $3,400 per month. Its location is ideal: barely one block south of Alamo Square and two blocks from Postcard Row over on Steiner. “This is not your NYC-style apartment where the kitchen is next to the bathtub which is next to the twin mattress,” the landlord assures in the ad. (Extra points for realizing that the phrase “New York-style” is not a selling point with SF renters.) It comes with one bed and one bath. And to balance out the harmonies with the previous listing, no cats allowed but dogs are okay.