A siege at a property at Epping, in Melbourne's north, is over, with Victoria Police arresting a 26-year-old man.

Police went to the house at about 2:00pm to arrest a man as part of an ongoing investigation into theft and firearm offences.

After speaking to police, the man initially left the house, but when challenged by members of the Special Operations Group, he retreated back inside and refused to come out.

The man was armed with a handgun and there were six other people inside, including a woman and five children, some of whom were related to the man.

"Everyone's safe, there were no injuries to anyone inside and they're all being cared for by family members," Inspector Peter Tatter of Victoria Police said.

"It was our intent to bring this to a peaceful resolution.

"Through negotiations, we were able to get the other occupants out without issue, without injury and we were able to safely arrest the offender."

Police said the people in the house were not being held against their will and the man had not made any threats to those inside or police.

Eventually all of the occupants left the house and the man was arrested about five hours after the incident began.

The incident caused major traffic problems in the area, as heavily armed police secured the scene.