Some hotels are expected to go to the wall after the World Cup, although the impact of the tournament on the property market is at worst expected to be neutral.
Erwin Rode, the chief executive of property services firm Rode & Associates, and property economist Francois Viruly both believe liquidations of hotels are possible.
"I think there are many reckless hotel developers out there who are obviously hoping for a longer-term spin-off to warrant their investments," Rode said.
But a sustained boom seemed increasingly unlikely, he said, although opportunistic developers could not have foreseen the global recession just as South Africa would not have been able to foresee this when it bid for the World Cup.
Rode said this would have a depreciating effect on room rates, making the country more competitive in the world tourism industry.
But he stressed the tournament was "going to be a damp squib" for those who expected miracles.
However, he said the event would give the country better exposure and in the long term might slightly boost the economy through tourism and "maybe the additional tourist will buy a house in Clifton".
Viruly said the most important legacy the country would get from the World Cup would be through the investment in infrastructure. The improvement in transport, such as the bus rapid transit (BRT) system and Gautrain, would open up property market opportunities in some suburbs.
However, Viruly said the country had probably taken its eye off the ball a bit in certain instances to meet its World Cup commitments and this would be redressed through budgetary readjustments to ensure the momentum of urban regeneration was not lost.
Although the tourism and hotel sector would not benefit as much as anticipated, the World Cup had provided a platform for the tourism sector to move forward.
"We have too many rooms. I think this is a risk and we will see some failures."
From a residential perspective, Viruly said there were also several developers who over estimated the impact of the event and thought they could let out houses.
In the retail property sector, only the regional shopping centres were likely to benefit from the tournament. The biggest benefit "will go to those on street corners selling flags".
Andrew Golding, the chief executive of Pam Golding Property, said in the short term there would be a number of foreign high-net-worth investors who were exposed to South Africa for the first time and were "bowled over".
Pam Golding fully expected to do some deals with these individuals, he said, but it would only involve niche top-end properties, not hundreds of deals.
