NEW YORK CITY-No one at the International Council of Shopping Centers annual national New York Conference says that we are returning to the heady days before the recession. If planned retailer expansion and a renewed sense of optimism are indicators, though, this real estate sector is definitely bouncing back.

“We believe the worst is behind us,” said Dana Telsey, CEO of retail research firm Telsey Advisory Group. “It’s not like it’s off to the races, but compared to 2008 and 2009, it feels better.”

Telsey said that many retailers are operating more efficiently than they were in the past, leading to better margins. Their stock prices are also doing well, outperforming other industries as a whole. These improvements will lead to an increase between 4% and 4.5% in holiday sales this year, she said.

Telsey’s associate, Joe Feldman, even had some optimism about the 9.8% unemployment rate that isn’t quickly abating. He said that retailers are now accustomed to doing well in this type of environment and can succeed. “As [unemployment] goes down, it’s only going to get better for these guys.”

Telsey and Feldman also pointed out some retailer concepts doing particularly well right now. They include: yoga chain Lululemon, Marshalls and T,J. Maxx owner TJX Cos., Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom, and of course, Walmart.

Among the chains they pointed to with ongoing problems included Hot Topic, Office Depot, RadioShack, Sears, Supervalu and Talbots. “If you stay the same, you die,” Telsey said. “If you are different you can grow.”

The conference also had a number of retailers promoting their expansion plans to attendees. Fast-food chicken chain Chick-fil-A has plans to open 1,200 units over the next 10 years, essentially doubling the chain. It is entering new markets and will enter Illinois in 2012, the New York City Metro area in 2013 and Boston in 2014, among other areas.

High-end grocer The Fresh Market, with 100 stores, forecasted annual growth in the 15% range over the next few years. And Toys “R” Us, which created quite a buzz earlier this year when it announced plans to open 600 temporary “Express” stores for the holidays, might make some of those permanent. One-third of the 90 pop-up stores it opened last year for the holidays now have longer-term leases.