Stop Using Sold Comps: The Spreadsheet That Sells Listings Faster

Ben Brady welcomes back a true fan favorite — Shannon Mesritz, Broker with McClung Realty Group and longtime member of the Harcourts family. Shannon was one of the very first guests ever on this podcast (years before it became what it is today), back when he was running auctions in San Francisco at the height of COVID. But Shannon’s history with Harcourts goes far deeper than that. He began his real estate career with Harcourts in Australia over a decade ago, helped launch the auction platform in Oregon, returned home briefly, then came back to the U.S. to build the Bay Area auction marketplace before transitioning into his own traditional sales business, now consistently closing 40+ transactions a year.This episode dives into the one tool Shannon created during his auction days that has since become a critical part of his traditional real estate business: the Active Competition Study — a ranking-based pricing system that shows sellers exactly where their home sits within the current market. Forget sold comps. Forget “gut feeling” pricing. Shannon’s spreadsheet ranks a property against its live competition based on price, price-per-foot, days on market, and buyer viewership performance — creating a data-driven roadmap for pricing, repositioning, and securing meaningful price reductions without the emotion, ego, or guesswork that typically derails a listing.Ben and Shannon break down why this method works in every market cycle, how it exposes overpricing instantly, why most agents accidentally misprice listings by relying too heavily on historic sales, and how this tool has helped move more than $250M+ in inventory across multiple U.S. markets. Whether you're an auction agent or traditional-only, this episode will fundamentally change how you analyze competition, present value to sellers, and protect your listings from becoming “market stale.”Timestamps & Key Topics:[00:00:00] – Welcome back, Shannon Mesritz: fan favorite + long Harcourts history[00:00:34] – Shannon’s decade-long journey: Australia → Oregon → Bay Area → back to Oregon[00:01:16] – Why the Active Competition Study matters NOW more than ever[00:01:51] – How shifting markets expose overpricing instantly[00:02:37] – The “buyer hat” concept — and why agents almost never wear it[00:03:49] – Using live competition (not sold comps) to determine true value[00:05:05] – The psychology of price reduction conversations[00:06:17] – How Shannon built the tool during high-stakes SF auction campaigns[00:08:54] – Why most agents misinterpret square footage pricing[00:10:24] – Ranking categories: price, price-per-foot, days on market, view performance[00:12:06] – How to widen search radius and find “real” competitive data[00:13:45] – Using viewership trends as the ultimate indicator of buyer rejection[00:15:28] – When a listing isn’t selling: market issue vs property issue[00:17:02] – How the tool secured an 11% reduction on a Portland listing[00:18:40] – Why sellers trust this system more than agent opinion[00:20:07] – The listing presentation: how to pitch this strategy and win[00:21:56] – The biggest mistake agents make when positioning a property[00:23:14] – How this tool helped move $250M+ in Bay Area inventory[00:25:10] – Final takeaways: challenge your assumptions & think like a buyer🔗 Related Resources Below:🌐 For more information on Harcourts Auctions our non-distressed auction platform feel free to visit https://www.harcourtsauctions.com🔗 Connect with Shannon Mesritz:https://mcclungrealtygroup.com/agents/shannon-mesritzhttps://www.instagram.com/real.estate.mate/https://www.facebook.com/shannon.mesritz🔗 Connect with Ben Brady and Harcourts Auctions: ⁣https://www.facebook.com/Benbradyharcourts⁣ ⁣https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-brady-0b223517⁣ ⁣https://www.instagram.com/harcourtsauctions⁣ ⁣https://www.facebook.com/HarcourtsAuctions