It’s probably best to sit down before considering the proportions of this offering:
Read MoreSee what it cost to live in the city from 1850 up until 1965
BY BROCK KEELING AND ALEX BEVK
Photo via Found SF
Think the rental market in San Francisco is tough these days? Old classifieds offer a fascinating, jarring peek into the world of rentals since the city's earliest housing was built.
Back before the internet and advent of Craigslist, people used to list ads to reach potential buyers/sellers/renters in print publications called newspapers. For those of us who still remember smudged fingertips caused by thumbing though classifieds pages to find a car, a job, or a lover, here now is a look back in time at the rental markets of yore.
For ease of research, we decided to look up the rental listings from June throughout the decades, ranging from 1850 up until 1965. Anything after that will just depress you even more, so we’ve left that out for another time. Enjoy. (Read More)

San Francisco rent: $3,400 per month now normal. Median rents are flat compared to four years ago, but expectations have changed
BY ADAM BRINKLOW NOV 2, 2017, 9:48AM PDT

Photo by Tupungato
The first of the month has come again and rents are due across the city. Although the price of living in San Francisco continues to rise, it appears that habitual meteoric price hikes have created a grim sense of what’s normal.
As usual, the largest online rental platforms have tabulated the median rent for a single-bedroom apartment on their platform over the past four weeks, revealing a mostly expected spate of variations.
Note: These figures consist in part or in some cases entirely, of listings on one particular platform rather than a scientific sampling of the entire city. These are also market rates for new leases, not necessarily what the average renter pays presently:
- On ApartmentList, a single bedroom San Francisco home in October cost renters an average of $2,450/month, down a hair from last month and up $40 since June. ApartmentList’s figures are intentionally the lowest of the lot, as the site claims its competitors don’t properly contextualize the sample of high-end apartments on their sites with census data about older housing stock. (Read More)
Need a bed? These people have great beds and they are making dreams come true for others!
/https://sleepyheadusa.com/pages/story
How far does $2100 get you in the SF Rental Market?
/According to today's article in the Mercury News $2100 doesn't get you much, but actually, given the historical data it's a pretty reasonable number. For example: This unit @ 861 Sutter is a beauty! Awesome location, top floor, laundry on-site, a short jaunt to Trader Joe's and within walking distance to Union Square and FiDi - I would say the market is favorable. During what typically is a slow time of year for renting, this holiday season is telling of the influx of people moving to SF. Working with an agent who really wants to help can make all the difference! If you need help finding a place, please reach out to me via text @ 415-368-9665 for a quick consult of what $2100 really does get you in SF. It's a great time to be a renter!
Here is what Mercury News has to say...
If you’re apartment hunting, you know how hard it can be to find a good deal. So what does the low-end rent on a rental in San Francisco look like these days—and what might you get for the price?
We took a look at local listings for studios and 1-bedroom apartments in San Francisco via rental site Zumper to find out what budget-minded apartment seekers can expect to find around the city.
Take a look at the cheapest listings available right now, below. (Read More)
Which one would you choose? If you were looking to rent something for $8000 per month...
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Yes, San Franciscans rent homes for $8,000/month. Believe it. For example, here’s one in Nob Hill, a three-bedroom, two-bath penthouse apartment near Mason and Powell. It’s a pretty place and it shows off the views, the hardwood, the granite counters, and—perhaps most importantly—the positive pet policy. But is it really that much nicer or better located than similar San Francisco apartments renting for half the price? Maybe it’s a classic case of reach exceeding grasp, or maybe this landlord knows something we don’t. Note: This pad only rents for $8,000/month if renters pays 12 months up front. Month to month it’s another $250. Yow. (Read more)
A Mission Victorian is a home and art studio
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Windy Chien carves out space for comfort and creativity
BY MARY JO BOWLING AUG 8, 2017, 9:32AM PDT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICIA CHANG
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in February 2016 and has been updated with the most recent information.
"For some people the big dream is to have a baby; for others, it is to have a career. My dream was to own a house," says Windy Chien. For Chien, a product designer and fine artist, that dream came true five years ago, when she purchased a Victorian in the Mission District.
Chien's home is both a creative expression and a creative home base. She purchased it at a fortuitous moment for potential home owners. "It was during the downturn, and it was a great time to buy," she explains.
Shortly after, she quit her corporate job at Apple in order to focus on herself.
"I was working on the editorial team, and we were responsible for what's on the front page of the iTunes app store," says Chien. "At some point, I decided that I wanted to create things myself. I liked my job, but it was all about nurturing other people's work."
Underappreciated 'Hood: Ingleside, Old-School Living on the Edge of SF
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The Ingleside mural. (Courtesy of Alexander Mullaney
Ingleside presents a close-knit vibe, reminiscent of old-school San Francisco.
If you ever suggest going out in Ingleside, your friends may scream, "To the hinterlands!?" In a way, they're right. Ingleside is the southernmost part of San Francisco and bumps borders with Daly City—a distant, foreign land to most San Franciscans. But, before getting into what Ingleside has to offer, we should establish that its location shouldn't deter anyone from making it a destination. With its main strip, Ocean Avenue hosting the K line and Balboa BART at one end, and 19th Avenue, i280, and the 101 on the other, Ingleside is much more accessible than it's given credit for. In fact, it's just a 15min Lyft ride from the Castro or 16th and Mission.
As its reputation for being a "tougher" neighborhood fades from memory, Ingleside has increasingly become a wonderfully diverse last stop on your way south. Flanked with West Portal and the Whole Foods at CCSF / Balboa BART, the neighborhood's main draw to any visitor will undoubtedly be Ocean Avenue. Talk to nearly anyone on the street and there's a good chance they'll tell you a story about Ingleside from decades ago. Travel beyond Ocean Avenue and you'll find some of San Francisco's most stunning views from parks atop unexpected hills. With a diverse set of authentic eats and dive bars, Ingleside feels decidedly more "SF" than other neighborhoods which have become increasingly sterilized thanks to rampant gentrification.
Roomi hits 1 million users and raises $11 million to grow its shared housing marketplace
/Roomi, a peer-to-peer marketplace for finding roommates, has raised $11 million in a series A round of funding led by Atami Capital, with participation from Rosecliff Ventures, Townsquare Media, JXC Ventures, DCM, and Great Oaks Venture Capital.
Founded out of New York in 2013, Roomi enables anyone to find shared housing in their desired area, with filters available based on move-in dates, duration, and amenities such as “couples ok,” “air conditioning,” “gym,” and more. Similarly, leaseholders can use the platform to easily list any empty rooms they have, if a roommate vacates.
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