What was once a familiar main-street arrangement - shop below, home above - is being reimagined as buyers look for new ways into the property market without breaking the bank.
Part home, part workspace, mixed-use properties offer something conventional homes often cannot: a way of living that is more flexible and more connected to the life of a street and community, with the potential for multiple income streams.
From regional town shopfronts to blue-chip city-fringe terraces, here are three ready-made opportunities offering a place to live, work and earn under the one roof.
Country charm in tourist town with mixed-use zoning
Price guide: $680,000 - $720,000
In regional Victoria, 11 High Street, Kyneton offers a particularly charming entry into the shop-top idea at a more attainable price point.
Listed at $680,000-$720,000, the two-bedroom property sits on the town’s original High Street and blends heritage character with easy modern liveability, from its open fireplaces and rooftop views to its private courtyard and central village setting.
11 High Street, Kyneton is listed for $680,000 - $720,000. Picture: realestate.com.au
Part of the broader Daylesford-Macedon Ranges lifestyle region, Kyneton has become one of central Victoria’s most sought-after pockets, known for its gold-rush bones, bluestone beauty and strong food-and-creative culture.
Judith Stevens of Raine & Horne Kyneton said the building forms part of the town’s original shopping strip, with roots in the gold-rush era, and lends itself to a distinctly walkable way of life.
“You know, walk to all the gourmet shops and all the coffee shops and everything else. Be right in the middle of town,” she said.
The property has mixed-use zoning. Picture: realestate.com.au
With Kyneton now a predominantly tourist precinct, that centrality also adds to the property’s mixed-use appeal.
The current Melbourne owners have been using it as a weekender since a former children’s wear tenancy ended two years ago - but its mixed-use zoning leaves the door open to much more, whether as a studio, gallery, boutique business or simply a very characterful country base.
Converted shopfront with everything at your front door
Price guide: $1.1m - $1.2m
Then there is 119 Johnston Street, Collingwood, which may be the most revealing example of all when it comes to why this style of property feels newly relevant in 2026.
Set within a converted c1900 shopfront in the heart of Melbourne’s Collingwood Yards precinct, the three-bedroom property is already functioning as both home and short-stay accommodation - but vendor Alan Gan said it is attracting a distinctly modern kind of guest.
The converted shopfront is set up as a residential home which doubles as a popular Airbnb. Picture: realestate.com.au
Mr Gan, who renovated the property with his wife, said it's proved very popular on Airbnb, particularly with small groups travelling for work, while also giving the couple and their young family the flexibility to rent it out when they are overseas for three-to-four-month stints.
“We get guests that come in as a group, they work together as a small business and they sort of live under one roof and they work together in the front office as well,” he said.
The versatile floorplan provides a range of possibilities. Picture: realestate.com.au
He said that kind of demand may only grow as more lean, laptop-based businesses emerge - including AI-led companies with just a handful of staff wanting space to sleep, cook and collaborate together.
It is a strikingly current update on an old property type: not the traditional shop-below, flat-above model, but a more flexible version that can function as a home, while also offering the tried-and-tested option of being leased as a whole live-work space for a more mobile way of living and working.
Blue chip opportunity in iconic Sydney location
Price guide: $6.5 million
Few shop-top opportunities come more blue-chip than 76A Paddington Street, Paddington - a mixed-use holding in an iconic Sydney location known for fashion, art and some of the city’s most tightly held real estate.
Top of the range: This mixed-use property sits in one of Sydney's most prized inner city locations. Picture: realestate.com.au
The four-level Victorian terrace occupies a rare corner parcel and is currently configured as a residential unit plus retail space, along with a studio, workshop and double garage, with zoning that allows for both residential and commercial use.
The four-level terrace has views over Sydney harbour. Picture: realestate.com.au
Maclay Longhurst of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty described it as a “rare mixed-use asset” with “incredible corner exposure”.
Held by the same family since 2006, the property also brings income potential, with its current configuration opening the door to leasing out upper-level accommodation for buyers seeking flexibility beyond a straightforward home, while retaining a commercial or creative use below.
The property has a price guide of $6.5m. Picture: realestate.com.au
In a neighbourhood known for galleries, boutiques and some of Sydney’s best cafés and restaurants, it is a blue-chip version of shop-top living with serious reinvention potential.
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