CHICAGO-J. Paul Beitler of Douglas Elliman-Beitler, Inc. tells about 300 real estate professionals here that 2001 is the year to "buy something and leverage the daylights out of it." But his message may not be getting through to the public.

DALLAS-Miramar Development is readying plans to break ground on a 650,000-sf project in east Plano that nearly mirrors one that will deliver in April in the same submarket. That's it for east Plano after this one, says the developer. There's not enough land left for his kind of work.

AUSTIN-Earful of Books, an audiobooks chain from Austin, is headed to Oregon for the first leg of its expansion. The company will open three stores in the next 18 months in Oregon, a new market, and has 31 under contract in its existing lineup of states.