I understand what you're saying and I agree if it's not entry level and in a major market, but you don't have enough data to suggest that the parent didn't find anyone they want because of a low salary. All I'm saying is that if you are offering 80k and only expect 40 hrs, he should probably be clear about that because that could help him attract better candidates who value their time. Otherwise, I agree it could look low depending on where he is.
OTOH my experience is that pay and hours expectations are orthogonal in the software/IT industry! Like, meaning you can find jobs that pay low and expect low hours, jobs that pay low and expect high hours, jobs that pay high and expect low hours, and jobs that pay high and expect high hours, and all points in between. If only it were easy to tell at the interview stage, you know which one I'd try to get, but it's hard to really know what a company is like till you're there -- and different teams/depts at the same company can have wildly different situations.
When I interviewed personally I always asked what the hours expectation was because I knew the game as I had been abused before. So I'd try to ask employees at a prospective company to get the real scoop if possible. It's dishonest to demand crazy hours and not compensate. It also leads to high attrition and I'm not in business to spend time replacing people and risking losing clients over it.
SF's COL is 51% higher than Houston (ie, $80k in Houston ~ $121k in SF), and 73% higher than Phoenix ($80k in Phoenix ~ $138k in SF).
Factor in additional earnings potential for multi-earner households and $80k for a single earner can be quite a lot in the right "major metro area".