What $4,700 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: $4,700.

This Spanish-Colonial style house on Laidley has all the earmarks of a home near Sloat Boulevard, but it’s actually set in Noe Valley near Billy Goat Hill. City records date the home to 1938—perhaps that’s when they opted for the “Art Deco bathroom” that the ad mentions (but does not include in the reference photos), part of its full two-bed, one-bath set. Note that this listing is not for the entire house, but instead for the upstairs flat. Rent includes access to the garage and the garden, both of which are shared with the other unit. The fee is $4,700 per month; no dogs allowed but cats are a go.

Speaking of upstairs flats in western neighborhoods, this so-called “penthouse flat” in the Outer Sunset (38th and Judah) includes three beds, two baths, and a garage at the price of $4,600 per month. The penthouse terminology, of course, means in this case that, just like that Noe Valley home, it’s the uppermost unit in a house divided, taking the lion’s share of the unit with 1,700 square feet (about half of the building total). The side-by-side banks of bay windows that span an entire wall are a nice touch, a setup that’s often broken up by a duplex division but in this case remains intact. Speaking of separating things: no pets allowed here.

One form of curb appear that doesn’t get nearly enough play in San Francisco? Covering the a facade’s entirety with clinging flora. Granted this sort of imagery does suggest some hypothetical future in which nature is slowly reclaiming the city, but there’s no question it stands out on the block. This circa-1908 Powell Street building in Chinatown is most certainly habitable on the inside, where the two-bed, two-bath apartment for rent showcases hardwood flooring and lovely brickwork. It’s $4,600 per month, cats and dogs included, perhaps to provide some fauna as a compliment.

Of course, many home listings market to the tech sector these days, but some have the advantage of doing it more directly than others. In the case of this live/work loft in SoMa, the ad comes right out and says “start-ups welcome.” A two-bed, one-and-a-half bath loft (it’s actually quite unusual to find a loft with fewer bathrooms than bedrooms, often because live/work setups presume the need for separate employee facilities) goes for $4,700 and bars pets except for service animals.

Last up, this condo in Lower Pac Heights on Bush Street touts a “contemporary building” with rooftop terrace and one combined, single-purpose living room/dining room/kitchen right alongside the single bed and single bath, all of it measuring 824 square feet and fetching an equally contemporary price of $4,700 per month. Pets “negotiable.”