Retail real estate could be on its way back, with recovery expected to begin in 2010, according to the latest data from Real Capital Analytics. Additionally, the overall shopping environment could be favoring smaller retail real estate firms, a trend that some industry experts predict may continue. While larger retail landlords, like U.S. shopping mall owner General Growth Properties, have suffered in the recession, smaller property owners are able to more quickly adjust to changing economic conditions, according to Adam Ginsburg, co-chairman of GDC Properties, a shopping center owner operating out of Hawthorne, N.Y. “Because of our size, decisions work themselves to the top of the company fairly quickly,” Ginsburg said. “We have a very flat organization and can pull the trigger faster than those that have to go through management layers such as investment committees.” September saw the first monthly gain in same store sales across the country — albeit a .1 percent gain — the first jump in more than a year. With shopping activity possibly stabilizing, the 2009 holiday season could be crucial for retail real estate, according to Retail Traffic magazine. Al Williams, principal with Excess Space Retail Services, a real estate lease restructuring firm, said that if the holiday shopping season doesn’t go smoothly, the U.S. could see between 6,000 and 8,000 store closings in the first two quarters of 2010. [Retail Traffic Mag] and