A mid-floor three bedroom, three bath at the St. Regis with a view of One Rincon asking $11,950 a month. Or a high-floor two bedroom, two bath at One Rincon with a view of the Bay Bridge for fifty bucks more ($12,000 a month).
Similar rents but very different values. You make the call.
$11950 / 3br – Rare Corner 3Bed/3Bath at St. Regis! [Craigslist]
$12000 / 2br – Luxury Penthouse Suite @ One Rincon Hill: 2BR 2BA [Craigslist]

20 thoughts on “The Relative Value Of Two High-Rise Rentals Around $12,000 A Month”
  1. Living at ORH, I can tell you that the level of service is great. I really couldn’t imagine the staff being better. Construction quality leaves lot’s to be desired, but then again I hear the same thing about St.Regis. The St.Regis apt. is 400 sqft and 1 bedroom larger, but the ORH penthouse has MUCH better views. Having been to the penthouse floors I can tell you that the view really takes your breath away (and that’s already considering we are used to our middle of the building views). So I think if the St.Regis apt rents for the asking price, the ORH one should too. That’s a big if these days though.

  2. @gmlight I don’t think that’s a normal concern for most folks living in these buildings. And I would imagine someone throwing down $12k a month rent doesn’t do a whole lot of walking around the neighborhood. We have a baby and my wife walks him down to the Embarcadero almost daily, I have an eight minute walking commute to the office. The insanely busy freeway entrance and the still under construction sidewalks are problematic though.

  3. So young parents are moving into ORH, that is pretty cool. What percentage of the people living there have children vitalyg, would you say?

  4. 12K a month for a 2 bedroom at ORH is beyond delusional. I would think that people that can afford that kind of rent are too smart to be suckered by a view.
    Also, just a guess, but I’ll bet the St. Regis provides even better service than ORH–hard as that is to imagine.

  5. Rincon Hill is a neighborhood. Being there feels more like being astride the City rather than dunked into its core. That unique feel of being close by yet apart from everything is one reason why some people prefer that location. Liking some options more than others makes sense, but getting rude about it doesn’t.

  6. I live in the area, and it isn’t really a neighborhood, yet, even though there are a lot of people living there.
    Try finding a decent cafe open on the weekends. Or a casual restaurant. Or a park. Or a place to walk your dog. Or a place to cross the street without risking your life.

  7. Here is a riddle: how can you have a building in which half of the condos have a bay view and yet all of the condos are under water?
    The penthouse views at ORH may “take your breath away”, but that beats having them “take my money away”.

  8. Is it just me, or do these unrealistic numbers seem fishy in the current climate to others as well? I’m thinking tax shelters, money laundering, alimony claims… I may be overly primed by recent financial shenanigans, but it seems to me this is not about rental property anymore.

  9. I live in the Regis, and I walk to work and to restaurants, shopping etc. quite frequently. They are so close and I love it. And I am not the only one I see frequenting local establishments in our neighborhood. In fact, one of the residents in this building frequents a restaurant around the corner so frequently (Mayor Willie Brown), they have named a dish after him…
    It’s a great area, and bash it all you want, but I’m happy here.

  10. can someone explain “penthouse” as used above? I’m guessing no floors and neighbors above is *not* part of the definition. at 1600 sq ft, neither is large. doesn’t matter, $90/sqft/year is totally reasonable, right? lol

  11. Those things will rent somewhere around 60% of the asking. I mean c’mon, the finishes in the St. Regis unit leave a little to be desired and a high floor at ORH isn’t the “penthouse.” We need to put a stop to the ubiquitous use of the term “penthouse” by these rental agents. See the top floors of The Brannan for a true penthouse where you get much higher ceilings than the rest of the building (11ft), fireplaces, sliding glass windows, two deeded parking spots. Just becuase some toad rental agent calls ORH unit or St. Regis units the “penthouse” doesn’t mean it’s so.

  12. Technically the 59th and 60th floor are the “Penthouse Levels” of ORH. This unit for rent is on the 59th. It has some kitchen upgrades, bathroom upgrades as mentioned at the sales office, etc. But I agree, developers and agents are getting a little lax with the use of the word “Penthouse”. We’ve had this conversation before on SS and it’s getting old. I agree that just because it’s the top floor doesn’t make it a PH.
    Both of these are ludicrous and over priced. The ORH unit above has been on CL on and off for over 60 days and no price reduction. I am sure the buyer hasn’t closed yet and is trying to see what they can rent it for before they have too.
    The St. Regis place is a little blah. I have a friend there who has done some amazing things to her unit but this floor plan just doesn’t do it for me. There are far better units in that building that I would take at this price over that one.
    Good luck to the agents in renting though. It’s a tough market to be renting 11k+ properties, but I didn’t have to tell anyone that…

  13. 1RH : where you can move into a 59th floor penthouse and then discover that not only are there units above you but you are less than 58 floors above the lobby.

  14. In this market, anything above $3000 is a hard sell, ORH/SR or not. Also, you get a better view from a mid floor in ORH: at 59th, you are looking at mostly empty sky when you are sitting/lying on your couch.

  15. coming back late to the thread…
    Couple of things occurred to me… first of all a mid-floor in St.Regis is one of the lowest floors that are owned (vs. hotel. I believe.
    ORH considers the top 5 floors “penthouses” since they have the same floorplans. This is ridiculous to me… since “penthouse” literally means “top floor”. I’ve also toured the top floors and HATE the layouts. You can’t take away anything from the views though… pretty incredible (when you are standing on the balconies or right by the window). I would encourage anyone to ask the ORH sales folks to give you a tour if you are curious.
    Also, for all intents and purposes, ORH and St.Regis would be considered in the same neighborhood in any other large(er) city… we frequently walk down to Howard/Mission etc… 5-10 mins. One huge complaint (that will hopefully be fixed sooner rather than later) is the problematic intersection and street paving in the area.
    As far as families with young kids… there are quite a bit more than we expected. Very (pleasantly) surprised.
    As far as pricing, I agree that there is a very limited crowd that would pay $12k a month for a 2 or 3 bedroom (especially now) The price is probably derived from units worth half as much that rented for about half of that. There was a very specific reason we went as high as the floor we did and no higher… price per square foot. After a certain point it makes no economic sense. JJ you are absolutely right about the empty sky comment. Not only do you see all sky when you are floor ~45+ but even the color of the water is different. That was pointed out to me by a friend I was visiting in NYC that lives on the 44th floor.
    As a side note, I really wish people would stop hating on a building they’ve never been in. People that bought here are not necessarily idiots I assure you. There are pluses and minuses in everything and there are strategic wins and sucker’s bets in everything. It’s also a lot easier to Monday-morning quarterback situations two years after the fact.
    Happy holidays everybody!

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