It hasn't been a very good year for the reputation of Vancouver's real estate agents so far. After a series of stories in the Globe and Mail about the questionable conduct of some real estate agents, B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced the province would take action on "real estate agent conduct, conflict of interest and housing affordability".

An independent advisory group has been set up to make recommendations on these issues, such as in a dual agency representation where one agents acts for both the buyer and seller in a transaction.

But the government decided not to wait for the advisory group report when it came to the practice of real estate contract assignment -- so-called "shadow flipping." It has introduced new rules that came into effect in May.

An assignment clause allows the buyer of a home to sell the property before they take possession of it. In the red-hot Vancouver market, stories emerged of houses that were purchased by buyers -- and sometimes real estate agents -- and then resold before anyone took possession, sometimes several times, for more money. The profit from the subsequent sales went to the middle-man, not the original homeowner.

"In a hot housing market, we have to make sure there is no room for shady operators who take advantage of people," said Clark. "What we see happening in Vancouver is not right. It is not fair."

Now clauses in real estate contracts must state that the contract cannot be assigned without the written consent of the seller. Any profit from an assignment will go to the initial seller.

Assignment sales are legal in B.C. and in the rest of Canada.

"When done properly, assignments are legal and can be a useful tool for buyers and sellers," says the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO). "An example of this would be where a buyer's financial or personal situation changes before closing. Assigning allows them to pass along the contract to another buyer, without backing out of the deal with the seller.

"For instance, someone could buy a condo that is still under construction and might not be ready for a couple of years. The buyer's work or family situation could change during that time, causing them to change their mind about living in the condo they purchased. Another example may be where a buyer runs into financial difficulties to close on an existing house and wants to find another buyer rather than risk the financial penalties that might come with having to back out of the deal."

RECO says the issue of assignments appears to be a localized issue "and we haven't seen evidence of it being prevalent in Ontario. However, we are monitoring closely."

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) has updated the residential and commercial Contracts of Purchase and Sale to include the new clause.

"Like many other provisions in the contract, buyers and sellers have the option of keeping the new paragraph, changing it or striking it out completely -- but at least the conversation is more likely to happen now," says BCREA president Denna Horn.

BCREA says that assignments are important tools for the development process. "A builder or developer often signs contracts to buy land in a holding company or joint venture, which means they do not have to incur the expense before actually having a project," says the association. "The rights to the property are then assigned to the partnership at closing. Restricting assignments would slow the ability of the private sector to increase the supply of homes."

The association says that assignments have been a very small part of the real estate market in B.C. "It is only in the recent unusual market, and in certain limited areas, that the number of assignments has apparently increased."

The association says most of the real estate boards in the province allow assignments to be advertised on their Multiple Listing Service systems, "providing the original seller gives their explicit, written consent. Since 2012, six real estate boards, including the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, report only 1,013 assignments on their MLS systems."

But many of the sales took place outside of the MLS system. Before the new regulations came into force, the Globe and Mail reported that dozens of assignment listings were posted on Craigslist.

The B.C. provincial government also announced that it will soon begin collecting citizenship data of real estate owners, though the Property Tax Transfer Form. There's a lot of concern about how foreign ownership is driving up real estate prices.

"The objective here is to get beyond the theory, get beyond the conjecture and the speculation and actually have hard data," said B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong.