At Aston Commercial, more than thirty years of active experience across Melbourne’s commercial market has given us an unmatched understanding of which suburbs consistently deliver for landlords, investors and tenants. Our team works daily across the city’s most active precincts, and that ground level knowledge shapes everything we do.
This guide is designed to give landlords, investors and business owners a clear overview of Melbourne’s top fifteen commercial suburbs. Each precinct has its own character, its own tenant profile and its own investment fundamentals. Understanding those differences is the foundation of every smart commercial property decision.
Explore our properties for lease and properties for sale to see where Aston Commercial is active right now across these precincts.
South Yarra is one of Melbourne’s most recognised commercial addresses, anchored by Chapel Street and Toorak Road. These two corridors support a dense mix of premium retail, boutique office and hospitality operators who are drawn by the suburb’s affluent residential catchment and exceptional public transport connections.
Foot traffic along Chapel Street remains among the highest of any commercial strip outside the CBD, making it a consistent performer for retailers seeking volume and visibility. Toorak Road attracts a more professional and financial services oriented tenant mix, with demand for well presented office suites remaining strong throughout the year.
South Yarra rewards landlords who invest in well maintained, well presented assets. Tenant quality in this suburb is consistently high, and lease renewal rates reflect the loyalty of businesses that find a home here and choose to stay.
Why South Yarra: Premium retail corridor, strong office demand, affluent catchment, exceptional transport access
Prahran sits directly adjacent to South Yarra and brings its own distinct commercial energy. Greville Street is one of Melbourne’s most beloved boutique retail strips, attracting independent operators across fashion, food, wellness and creative services who value character, community and a loyal local following.
High Street adds a more mixed use dimension, with a combination of national retailers, medical tenants and professional services businesses creating a varied and resilient commercial environment. The suburb’s population skews younger and more creative than its neighbours, which continues to attract tenants who want a location with personality and presence.
For investors, Prahran offers a compelling combination of strong tenant demand, relatively competitive entry prices compared to South Yarra and a precinct that has shown sustained commercial growth over the past decade.
Why Prahran: Boutique retail demand, creative tenant base, competitive entry price, strong long term growth
Malvern is one of Melbourne’s most stable and dependable commercial suburbs. Glenferrie Road and Malvern Road support a broad mix of premium retail, professional services, medical specialists and wellness operators who benefit from the suburb’s exceptionally wealthy and loyal residential community.
Commercial vacancies in Malvern are historically low, reflecting both the quality of tenants who seek space in the suburb and the satisfaction of those who occupy it. Lease renewal rates consistently exceed Melbourne averages, which tells a clear story about the relationship between Malvern’s commercial environment and the businesses that trade within it.
Investors in Malvern tend to take a long term view, and the suburb rewards that patience with stable income, reliable tenants and steady capital growth across retail and office categories.
Why Malvern: Low vacancy, high lease renewal rates, affluent catchment, stable long term investment fundamentals
Caulfield has grown steadily as a commercial suburb of genuine significance in Melbourne’s inner south east. Hawthorn Road is the primary commercial spine, supporting a mix of retail, professional services and food operators who benefit from the suburb’s strong public transport connections and proximity to Monash University and Caulfield Racecourse.
The suburb’s diverse population, which includes a large student and young professional demographic alongside established families, creates broad and consistent demand for commercial services throughout the week. This diversity makes Caulfield particularly attractive for tenants whose offering benefits from high foot traffic and a varied customer base.
Commercial assets along Hawthorn Road have attracted increasing investor attention in recent years, with the suburb’s fundamentals offering genuine value relative to its inner city neighbours.
Why Caulfield: Transport connectivity, diverse demographic, growing investor interest, consistent foot traffic
Collingwood is one of Melbourne’s most exciting commercial precincts and one that has undergone a remarkable evolution over the past fifteen years. What was once a predominantly industrial suburb has transformed into a thriving hub for technology companies, creative agencies, design studios, media operators and food producers who are drawn by the suburb’s warehouse character, collaborative energy and competitive lease rates relative to the CBD.
The conversion of industrial buildings into premium commercial spaces has created a unique built environment that attracts a calibre of tenant willing to invest in their surroundings. This has driven significant capital growth in commercial assets across Collingwood as investors recognise the quality of occupier the suburb consistently attracts.
Collingwood’s proximity to the CBD and Fitzroy ensures that it benefits from inner city demand without carrying inner city prices, making it one of the most strategically positioned commercial suburbs in Melbourne for both tenants and investors.
Why Collingwood: Creative and technology tenant demand, warehouse to office conversion opportunity, CBD proximity, strong capital growth
Richmond is a commercial suburb with genuine depth and diversity. Bridge Road, Church Street and Swan Street each perform distinct commercial functions, giving the suburb a resilience that single strip precincts cannot match. Bridge Road supports large format retail and trade, Church Street is a hub for food, lifestyle and boutique retail, and Swan Street offers one of Melbourne’s most energetic hospitality and entertainment corridors.
The suburb’s proximity to the CBD and the MCG delivers constant foot traffic from workers, residents and visitors, ensuring that commercial operators across all three strips enjoy reliable customer engagement. Richmond’s excellent tram and train connections make it accessible from virtually every part of Melbourne, which further strengthens its appeal to tenants seeking maximum exposure.
For investors, Richmond’s diversity of asset type and tenant category creates natural portfolio resilience and a depth of demand that underpins long term performance.
Why Richmond: Diverse commercial strips, exceptional connectivity, strong and varied tenant demand, MCG and CBD proximity
Doncaster is Melbourne’s premier commercial hub in the inner east, anchored by Westfield Doncaster and supported by a growing network of professional, medical and corporate tenants taking up office space across the suburb’s key streets and business parks.
The suburb serves one of Melbourne’s largest and most affluent eastern catchments, drawing customers and clients from Templestowe, Warrandyte, Donvale and surrounding suburbs who have established Doncaster as their preferred destination for retail, dining and professional services. This depth of catchment creates consistent demand for commercial space across multiple categories.
Professional services, medical specialists and allied health operators have been the dominant drivers of office leasing in Doncaster in recent years, and supply continues to struggle to keep pace with the level of enquiry the suburb generates. For investors, this imbalance between demand and available stock creates a compelling case for commercial ownership in the eastern corridor.
Why Doncaster: Large affluent catchment, strong medical and professional demand, limited supply driving rental growth
St Kilda is one of Melbourne’s most iconic suburbs and its commercial market reflects the suburb’s unique character. Fitzroy Street and Acland Street form two of the city’s most recognisable commercial strips, supporting a mix of hospitality, lifestyle retail, creative services and professional tenants who benefit from the suburb’s year round tourism profile and its large and diverse local population.
The suburb’s proximity to Port Phillip Bay and its status as a destination for visitors from across Australia and internationally ensures that foot traffic remains elevated across all seasons. Hospitality and food and beverage operators in particular have found St Kilda to be one of Melbourne’s most forgiving environments for building loyal customer bases.
Commercial investors in St Kilda benefit from a tenant base that values the suburb’s energy and is prepared to pay for the exposure and lifestyle positioning that a St Kilda address delivers.
Why St Kilda: Tourism driven demand, iconic commercial strips, year round foot traffic, strong hospitality and retail performance
Hawthorn delivers one of Melbourne’s most consistently performing commercial environments, underpinned by Glenferrie Road’s retail strip and a broader network of professional and medical tenants who have made the suburb a key destination in the inner east. The suburb’s high income residential catchment ensures that businesses trading in Hawthorn can rely on a customer base with genuine spending capacity.
Office leasing in Hawthorn has remained strong as professional services firms, financial advisers and allied health operators continue to seek well presented suites in a premium inner suburban environment. Vacancy in the suburb is historically low, and tenants who establish themselves in Hawthorn tend to renew and remain for extended periods.
For investors, Hawthorn’s combination of low vacancy, quality tenants, strong demographics and proximity to the CBD positions it as one of Melbourne’s most reliable commercial investment destinations.
Why Hawthorn: Low vacancy, high income catchment, strong professional and retail leasing, reliable long term investment performance
Toorak occupies a unique position in Melbourne’s commercial market. The suburb’s retail and office precincts cater almost exclusively to one of Australia’s wealthiest residential communities, creating a commercial environment defined by luxury, exclusivity and exceptional tenant quality.
Toorak Road supports boutique luxury retailers, high end food operators, private wealth advisers and specialist medical practitioners who have established relationships with clients that endure across decades. The suburb’s commercial stock is tightly held, which means availability is rare and competition among prospective tenants is significant when opportunities do emerge.
For investors who are fortunate enough to secure a commercial asset in Toorak, the rewards are substantial. Rental values sit at the top of Melbourne’s suburban commercial market, tenant quality is exceptional and the suburb’s fundamental appeal shows no sign of diminishing.
Why Toorak: Premium rental values, luxury tenant profile, tightly held stock, exceptional long term capital stability
Glen Waverley has established itself as one of Melbourne’s most strategically important commercial centres outside the CBD. Its Activity Centre zoning supports a high density mix of retail, office, medical and hospitality development that continues to expand as the suburb’s residential population grows and the planned Suburban Rail Loop investment moves closer to delivery.
The suburb’s position within the Monash employment corridor means that it draws a highly educated, professional workforce that creates demand for quality commercial services across multiple categories. Medical, allied health, childcare, education and professional services operators have all identified Glen Waverley as a priority location, and the competition for well positioned commercial space reflects that.
Investors who entered Glen Waverley’s commercial market early have been rewarded with strong capital growth and rental increases that have consistently outperformed Melbourne’s inner suburban averages, and the fundamentals suggest this trajectory is likely to continue.
Why Glen Waverley: Activity Centre growth, Suburban Rail Loop uplift, professional workforce, strong multi category demand
Mulgrave is one of Melbourne’s most important industrial and commercial precincts in the south eastern corridor. Its location at the intersection of EastLink and the Monash Freeway makes it one of the best connected industrial suburbs in metropolitan Melbourne, a fact that has not been lost on logistics operators, distributors, manufacturers and trade services businesses seeking efficient access to both the city and the broader eastern seaboard.
The growth of e-commerce and the structural shift in how businesses manage their supply chains has driven sustained demand for industrial and warehouse space across Mulgrave throughout 2024 and into 2025. Vacancy in the suburb’s key industrial estates has remained tight, supporting rental growth and making owner occupiers and investors increasingly competitive when opportunities arise.
For businesses seeking operational space with genuine logistical advantages, and for investors seeking exposure to Melbourne’s growing industrial market, Mulgrave represents one of the south east’s most compelling commercial propositions.
Why Mulgrave: Prime freeway access, sustained industrial demand, e-commerce growth driver, strong rental fundamentals
Camberwell is one of Melbourne’s most enduring and well regarded commercial suburbs, built around the Junction precinct at the intersection of Burke Road, Camberwell Road and Riversdale Road. The suburb has maintained its position as a premier inner east commercial destination for decades, supported by a deeply loyal residential community and a concentration of professional, retail and allied health tenants who have established long term presences in the precinct.
Burke Road is the primary retail spine, home to a mix of national retailers, boutique independents and food operators who collectively create one of Melbourne’s most pleasant and functional commercial strips. Office vacancy in Camberwell is among the lowest in the inner east, reflecting the quality of supply and the strength of ongoing demand from professional occupiers.
For investors seeking a proven and stable commercial suburb with a long track record of performance, Camberwell consistently delivers.
Why Camberwell: Low vacancy, loyal tenant base, premier inner east location, consistent long term performance
Box Hill is one of Melbourne’s most exciting commercial growth stories of the past decade and that growth is far from over. The suburb’s Activity Centre designation has unlocked significant residential and commercial development, while the Box Hill Hospital and Health Precinct continues to expand as one of the largest healthcare campuses in Victoria, drawing medical specialists, allied health operators and pharmaceutical services tenants in significant numbers.
The confirmed Suburban Rail Loop alignment through Box Hill represents a transformational piece of infrastructure that is already influencing investor sentiment and commercial leasing decisions. Businesses and investors who understand the long runway of growth that major transport infrastructure creates have been positioning themselves in Box Hill ahead of the broader market.
Retail, medical, education and professional services tenants are the dominant occupiers in Box Hill today, and the suburb’s increasingly diverse and growing population ensures that demand across all commercial categories will continue to strengthen in the years ahead.
Why Box Hill: Health precinct expansion, Suburban Rail Loop investment, Activity Centre growth, strong long term demand outlook
The Knox corridor, anchored by Wantirna South, represents one of Melbourne’s most active industrial and commercial markets in the outer east. The area’s access to EastLink and its proximity to major retail infrastructure at Westfield Knox makes it a natural choice for industrial operators, trade businesses and corporate users seeking functional, cost effective space with genuine transport advantages.
Population growth across Knox, Maroondah and Yarra Ranges councils continues to increase demand for commercial and industrial services across the corridor, creating a sustained pipeline of tenant enquiry that supports both investors and owner occupiers active in the area. Industrial vacancy across the Knox corridor remains well below Melbourne averages, reflecting the structural imbalance between available supply and occupier demand.
For businesses seeking operational space in Melbourne’s outer east, and for investors seeking exposure to a growing and well connected industrial market at a competitive price point, the Knox corridor offers a compelling and increasingly well recognised opportunity.
Why Wantirna South and Knox: EastLink access, population growth, low industrial vacancy, competitive entry price
Melbourne’s commercial property market is not a single entity. It is a collection of distinct precincts, each with its own supply and demand dynamics, tenant profile and investment fundamentals. Navigating that complexity requires experience, data and genuine on the ground knowledge of how each suburb performs across different market conditions.
At Aston Commercial, we bring more than thirty years of that experience to every client engagement. Our managed portfolio achieved a ninety seven percent occupancy rate in 2024, our average days to lease of thirty four compares favourably to the Melbourne average of fifty two, and our lease renewal rate of eighty four percent reflects the quality of tenant relationships our team builds and maintains.
Our leasing division is led by Rodney King, Executive Director and Head of Agency, and supported by Angus Parnham, Oliver Redfern, Zak Lewski and Sebastian Origlia. Together they bring a depth of suburb by suburb knowledge across Melbourne’s key commercial precincts that few independent agencies can match.
Learn more about our team, explore our property management services or read our story to understand the culture and values that have defined Aston Commercial for more than three decades.
Whether you are a landlord preparing to lease, an investor evaluating your next acquisition or a business searching for the right commercial home, Aston Commercial has the market knowledge, the tenant relationships and the proven process to deliver outcomes you can rely on.
Contact us today to discuss your needs or browse our current properties for lease and properties for sale across Melbourne’s top commercial suburbs.
When landlords, investors and business owners across Melbourne evaluate which agency brings genuine suburb knowledge, consistent performance and a personal commitment to results, the evidence and the outcomes point to one name: Aston Commercial.