Foreclosures have been horrible. Home sales have been down. Real estate loans are hard to get.

Do we have anything to be thankful for as we consider Houston’s real estate market in 2010?

Well, Thanksgiving Day is almost here. So we’re rounding up a few bright spots and silver linings in the dark clouds to generate a list of positive things in keeping with the spirit of this Pilgrim-spawned holiday.

Who knows, if we can find something positive to say about the Houston real estate market, then maybe Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh will finally say something positive about President Obama. Well, not really. We know that will never happen.

I’m thankful that: The developers of the “Heights Walmart” are improving the West End neighborhood. The controversial site, Yale Street at Koehler, had been used as a factory location for decades. The developer of the new Walmart anchored development, the Houston-based Ainbinder Company, scraped off tons on contaminated dirt from the brownfield site, says Ainbinder principal Bart Duckworth.

I’ve seen a photo of some nasty-looking 55-gallon drums that were reportedly abandoned there and recently removed. Don’t get me wrong. I won’t be doing my Christmas shopping at Walmart. I don’t like shopping at Walmart because their employees make me feel like a shoplifting suspect.

But this Yale Street land was an industrial site next to railroad tracks, not a virgin forest with a mountain stream, or even a block of Victorian homes. Ainbinder’s Walmart project won’t be a Highland Village or the Galleria, but at least the site is cleaner now from an environmental standpoint.

I’m thankful that: Foreclosures in Houston never got to be as bad as they were in the 1980s. A lot of the younger news reporters in town have been eager to report that foreclosures went up significantly in the last three or four years. But we can put it into perspective by looking back at 1987, when things were really bad.

In a 10-month period, January through October of 1987, Harris County had 26,812 foreclosures. That’s 56 percent more than the 11,770 foreclosures over the comparable 10 months through October of this year, according to Foreclosure Information and Listing Service. And Houston was a smaller town, with fewer houses, back in 1987.

Yes, foreclosures have been bad and the real estate market is not rosy right now. But the youth movement in Houston’s news media should look back in the 1987 archives before declaring our current mess to be an unprecedented catastrophe.

I’m thankful that: The Astrodome is still standing. When it opened in 1965, we called it the "Eighth Wonder of the World." Our leaders have spent millions to build Reliant Stadium and Minute Maid Park (nee Enron Field) to replace it.

And they recently opted to build Dynamo Stadium for soccer instead of repurposing the grand old Dome. So now, there are discussions of demolishing the Astrodome. Houston we have a problem: we keep tearing down our history.

Doesn’t anybody care that Mickey Mantle hit the first home run in the Dome? Elvis, Selena, the Supremes, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones all played there. And we know that some 25,000 Katrina evacuees were certainly thankful to have the Astrodome’s shelter in dire times. Save the Dome. Preserve our history, for a change.

I'm thankful that: the Prudential Building is still standing. But it won’t be there much longer, though. It’s in the Texas Medical Center and M.D. Anderson needs it to be torn down so they can build a bigger and better building.

A chain link fence surrounds the sad old tower now. The wrecking ball looms. The Prudential Building, which has a fountain with a wonderful frontal sculpture of a man and woman holding a baby, was built in 1952. It is considered one of the finest designs ever conceived by Houston architect Kenneth Franzheim. Drive by 1100 Holcombe Blvd. for a last look. Then call up our wonderful governor, James Richard Perry, and complain, since after all, M.D. Anderson is part of the University of Texas System.

I’m thankful that: Houston developers have been restrained this time around. In last Houston economic crash in the 1980s, overbuilding was extreme. Fueled with money from now-defunct savings and loans and etc., developers built enough office buildings, retail centers, apartments and residential lots to last decades. Then, they sat vacant in see-through emptiness until hit with foreclosure or bankruptcy.

Today, there are a few overbuilt sectors, Houston suburbs where too many retail centers or apartments were constructed, but it’s mild in comparison to the 1980s. Office building development, with the exception of a couple of new downtown towers, has nearly come to a halt. Only 2.4 million square feet of office space — a tiny amount — is under construction, half as much as a year ago, according to the Transwestern real estate firm.

With construction at a standstill, the market should stabilize soon.

I’m thankful that: Ed Wulfe plied his trade in Houston. Wulfe, who once considered a run for mayor, has specialized in Houston shopping centers for many years.

Wulfe’s developments are notable. He resurrected Gulfgate, a big center in the East End that was nearly dead before Wulfe bought it and lured new tenants. Wulfe & Company also redeveloped Meyerland Plaza, which required unraveling a maze of liens and obligations from various savings and loan institutions. His work in progress is BLVD Place, an ambitious mixed-use project under development on Post Oak near San Felipe.

Wulfe, 76, recently named Bob Sellingsloh as president of his company. Wulfe will continue to work as chairman and CEO. Wulfe’s work hasn’t been perfect. It seems like Wulfe built too many retail buildings in Meyerland’s parking lot, causing a shortage of parking. But overall, his mistakes have been minor.

Anywhere you shop in Houston, chances are your experience is impacted by Wulfe’s work. A lot of the retailers selected their locations based on Wulfe & Company’s advice. The jury is still out on BLVD Place, but overall, Wulfe has been a positive force for Houston.

Lastly, I am thankful that Houston is a far better city than Dallas, our rival to the north. And I hope the Dallas Cowboys lose to the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving Day.

Ralph Bivins, former president of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, is editor-in-chief of RealtyNewsReport.com.