MELBOURNE house prices could double to hit a median of $1 million in a decade, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

REIV chief executive Enzo Raimondo said population growth and a shortage of housing stock would make million-dollar homes the norm.

''What we have seen in the last 20 years is the doubling of the median every 10 years,'' he said.

''There has been such growth it wouldn't be unrealistic to see a median in Melbourne of around $1 million. You have another million people moving into Melbourne in the next 10 years, which is going to put additional pressure on a fairly stretched marketplace.''

Melbourne's median house price, the midpoint between the highest and lowest sales, reached a record $480,000 in September. And for the first time, there were 18 mostly eastern and bayside suburbs that recorded a median of $1 million or more.