If you’re thinking about buying a home in Buffalo, North Buffalo deserves a serious look. It’s walkable, it has character, and Hertel Avenue is the heart of it.
Here’s what you need to know, from someone who sells homes here and spends a lot of time on these blocks.
The neighborhood
North Buffalo sits just south of Amherst and east of Delaware, centered around Hertel Avenue. The housing stock is diverse — brick Tudors, renovated doubles, colonials, craftsman bungalows. It’s a neighborhood with real bones. Compared to other desirable parts of the city, you still get genuine value here, which is increasingly rare in Buffalo’s market.
Walkability is real, not aspirational. You can get to coffee, food, a yoga class, a movie, and a bar without moving your car. That’s not something you can say about many Buffalo neighborhoods.
A perfect day on Hertel
Start at Spoke and Dagger for coffee. From there, Reach Power Yoga is steps away — a Best of Buffalo winner for yoga in the city. Heated Baptiste Journey into Power, 60 minutes. Lunch at Fresh Catch keeps things clean and local.
Try:
October Vintage is worth a stop while you’re on the block. The kind of well-curated shop where you go in for five minutes and come out with something you didn’t know you needed.
For dinner you’ve got options depending on the mood. Kostas for Greek done right. Sterling Place Tavern if you want something more neighborhood bar, good food. Lloyd Taco for the patio — casual, affordable, where me and my wife end up most nights.
Cap the night at the North Park Theatre — a single-screen historic theater that has no business being this good — then a post-movie drink at Mes Que. Some of the best cocktails in all of Buffalo. You’ll stay longer than planned. That’s the point.
The real estate
North Buffalo consistently attracts buyers who want to be in a real neighborhood — people who care about walkability, community, and character. First time buyers, young families, investors. The mix of housing types means there’s usually something at every price point.
If you’re considering a move to North Buffalo, I’d love to help. I know this neighborhood well — which streets are quieter, which blocks have the best bones, and what homes are actually worth here right now.