Karan Kaul is a principal research associate in the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute. He publishes innovative, data-driven research on complex, high-impact policy issues to improve the US mortgage finance system. A strategic thinker and thought leader with 13 years of experience in mortgage capital markets, Kaul has published over 100 research articles on such topics as the housing supply crisis, mortgage servicing reforms, efficient access to credit, benefits of alternative credit scoring, industry safety and soundness, and institutional single-family rentals. He has advocated for efficient industry practices, regulation, and legislation to make the mortgage market work better for all Americans.
At Urban, Kaul has led the Mortgage Servicing Collaborative and the Mortgage Markets COVID-19 Collaborative. He speaks frequently with members of the media and presents at housing conferences. Before joining Urban, he spent five years at Freddie Mac as a senior strategist analyzing the business impact of post-crisis regulatory reforms. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland, College Park.