The state-owned Secondary Mortgage Corporation (SMC) is in talks with four to five property developers that are interested in offering mortgage loans direct to homebuyers and selling loan portfolios to the SMC later.
Selling loan portfolios to SMC would allow developers to free up funds for investment, president Pornnipa Hachaiyaphum said.
The method, which is used by Japanese property developers, can help them sell their residential projects more easily to purchasers as they price the loan at one percentage point lower than that offered by financial institutions.
She expects the system in Thailand would be similar to Japan's.
At present, those who borrow mortgages to finance their home purchases are largely required to seek loans from financial institutions.
Siam Commercial Bank, Thailand's third-largest lender by assets, is the biggest mortgage lender.
Mrs Pornnipa admitted that buying loan portfolios carries risks because developers may be lax about adhering to lending approval standards in return for home sales.
To prevent the problem, loan processes of developers that want to sell portfolios to the SMC must pass its standards and be scrutinised by the agency.
There is no need to amend any law in allowing developers to lend to customers as the practice is similar to that of captive leasing firms wholly owned by car makers.
Mortgage interest rates could be fixed for as long as 20 years and the rate should be capped at 6% if that is the case, Mrs Pornnipa said.
The SMC's current longest fixed-rate loan is for 10 years.
In Japan, the longest fixed rate for mortgages is 35 years with an interest rate of 2.7%.
Mrs Pornnipa said SMC planned to mobilise funds of 10 billion baht this year to purchase housing loan portfolios from financial institutions.
The agency has a combined loan portfolio of 17 billion baht.