Excel function that returns range address

Is there any native Excel function that returns the equivalent of the VBA function range.address?

I can create a unique function in VBA or use =cell("address",A1) & ":" & cell("address",B6), but would prefer a built-in function that allows "click-and-drag".

No. You can also cobble something together using ADDRESS, but it's not really any better than what you've got.