You never know which sale will have significant turbulence and require more time to  make it work.

There is no comparison between how much time we spend on an individual transaction. Some of the smallest transactions can take a lot more time and energy than a million-dollar property.

I don't believe one can generalize. The "hard" dollars I spend on a higher priced listing are generally higher. The "soft" dollars, which is my time, could also be higher... especially now when homes selling at $400K or less in my market fly off the shelves. But. in general, each listing and the time it demands is unique.

We never know...  That's whjy the risk is on the agent.  We never know how much time and effort goes into each sale because there is no typical sale.  Too many factors go into getting a property sold.  I wwould say it appears that way to the untrained eye.  We're dealing with people and their emotions and interests on both sides of the transaction--people are not predictable like mindless atoms.  Costs of marketing will most likely vary between the two sales.

This individual is a Ex Dir for a national not for profit (Fed Gov connected) agency. 

which explains a lot right there . . . LOL
the time and work involved is NOT apples to apples in ANY price point! 

Each property is unique unless you're sitting at a new home development and even then, it's as unique as a fingerprint. The high dollar property may require more outlay of $$ for higher end marketing . . . the lower dollar property may have more showings and offers and that is labor intensive, the REALLY low dollar properties IMO have the highest grief factor bc you're likely dealing with less sophisticated consumers! 

There is no one size fits all and that blanket statement should be pulled over his head and he should leave real estate to the EXPERTS! 

I love when non-agents tell me how real estate works ! NOT !

No 2 transactions are the same. Ever ! 

While you may have the same checklist of to do's, write the listing, enter MLS, take photos, sign in the yard, etc., But you cannot foresee the issues that will appear in each transactions. 

Seller & Buyer & the other Agent personalities involved. Reactions to offers, number of offers, timing of offers, negotiations of offer terms, Inspections, results of inspection and reaction of each party to the Inspection..even homes sold as is have Inspections and no home is in perfect condition every single day. Same issues for appraisals. You cannot anticipate the value of an Appraisal or the reaction by either Party & other Agent. 

Even cash offers, no contingecies, close in 2 weeks, no inspection, no appraisal, etc can still have Title issue, wire fraud issue, funds arrival on time to the Title company or Escrow Closer. 

Or a personal crisis by one of the parties. Or a financial issue on the mortgage side. A last minute major purchase a barely qualified Buyer can derail the sale in the home stretch. Or a mortgage rate increase before the rate lock period, or a seller that stops maintaining the home before the final walk through or.leaves a  garage full.of trash discovered on the way to closing. 

No 2 transactions are ever the same, regardless.of price point. Did I mention location, or an HOA restriction on pet size or number of pets allowed discovered in HOA document review. 

So yeahhhhh, I looooovvvve it when nonAgents tell me how easy it is ! NOT ! 

Maybe it's a discussion and decision about MacIntosh and Gala as well as the countless other choices in apples one encounters while shopping. Yes, apples may be discussed in your question, it might be helpful to get to the core of the issue. 

While there are times when the pickings are slight in the barrel of choices, consumers can notice plenty of differences.  In property selection. And in fruits. And nuts.  Plus lots of other stuff along the aisle.   

Every transaction is different, regardless of the price range. You might actually spend less time with a higher priced property that attracts well qualified purchasers.

Since no specific timeline, property conditions or market conditions were provided, this face-value-comparison is indeed apples to apples. The time it takes to sell is the same for either property, price has little to do with it, unless one property is overpriced. The key distinction is that in San Diego, $400K typically represents a condo, while $800K could be a house. However, the preparation, marketing, negotiation, and escrow processes are largely the same.

It’s unclear why you disagreed, but to dive deeper: the price of a home doesn’t dictate the time it takes to sell unless it’s overpriced. Factors like the home’s condition, staging, preparation, and lead time for pre-marketing all influence the timeline. Additionally, a condo might require more time due to HOA disclosures, while a house could be delayed by more comprehensive property inspections. I'm curious why you think one takes longer than the other when neither are considered luxury market homes?

There are too many factors involved to be able to substantiate such a statement however, I have often said that there's an INVERSE relationship between price point & hours worked...  Consumers would be amazed at the time we spend to help their goal become reality. 

I'm representing a buyer on a nearly $2M home right now - easy, peasy - it's been an absolute dream. One that is $350K'ish, has been a challenge, to say the least. I feel when there is parental involvement, the challenges are ten-fold! 

I have 2 $500K sellers - one is easy-peasy, the other needs a good amount of hand-holding (LOTS of extra LONG calls, text messages and emails all day and night long).

There is absolutely, positively NO rhyme nor reason as to how much time we spend with each client, based upon sales/list price - ZERO, nary, nilch, NONE, nada... 😂 

For the record, THIS is what makes us love what we do - we never know what challenges we will face during any transaction.

All things being equal, let's just say it's harder to sell the more expensive homes because the buyer pool is smaller.  So it takes longer and that involves more work.

The amount of work in home sale, or even timber sales has more to do with the client and the property, and less to do with just the value of the property.  Unfortunately, you can't just adjust your rates based on how much of a pain the client is to work with, so we continue using the value of the property as a basis for the rate we charge. 😬

It may depend on so many different factors, not least of which might be the personalities involved, or if the home is priced properly for what it is. If this "individual" means the same effort should go into promoting a lower-priced home as in a higher-end home, that may be true. 

The answer is probably not if you are duplicating the same Marketing 

( nothing different or the same Marketing Plan ) . Since around 2010 , we have been given a large break in Marketing by no longer spending Marketing Dollars on Print Media ( Newspapers & Homes Magazines) .

Nina Hollander, Broker and Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400 provide two different but similar answers to your question with comments from other Rainers. 

Marketing dollars are greater in the higher end.   

How many buyers are in each price range at any given time contribute to time it takes.  And marketing longer costs more.  Also high priced homes generally have more spent on marketing.

This is an "it depends" question.  Is the seller needy or can I just call him when I have actual news/something to discuss?  What's the median price point and how many showings will each house have before it sells.  There have been times when I've put in way more work with a cheaper home because it had 50 showings with agents with questions.   So it all depends.    But if they are trying to half your commission.... I just tell people when they want to do an equal amount of work for me at half price let them know and I'll tell them how much my regular guy charges and when to cut my grass.

I do spend more on marketing homes over a certain price point (the paper the flyers go on, the photos, staging consults for sellers etc.)

As Nina said you can't generalize. In that price range I think it is the same as long as the seller is motivated.  In my experience, the lower end is the hardest & sometimes hardly worth the time. I can see why agents have a low set point for listings.

Margaret Rome used the word turbulence - I think that can be found out at the listing appt.

Selling a home should take the same expertise no matter the price.

Miss Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400 nailed this. 

I will add one variable that must be considered: the owner/seller.
Some demand/require/need so much more of our time above and beyond the time we spend selling their home. 

Our Team provides the same amount of necessary effort, same skills, same experience background, same everything to all of our clients in order to achieve the desired outcome. We do not differentiate regarding price point. The difference influenced by the market and by the client.

Well, Leanne, to answer honestly I really think it depends on the transaction & the people involved. I remember one dinky little condo that took an inordinate amount of time because of the seller. 

It can be argued either way making it subjective. Who knows what they may run into (in detail) before hand? The processes are the same as well as procedures. The clientele is different in general but specific to the price ranges. I am interested to hear from both sides

Your know in your market what typically each property price point involves Leanne Smith ! I know in Maine, the small couple acres traded for two pigs and a chicken is a lot more work because no survey, heirs to sign off have to be tracked down and lots of drama. Those small ones are a lot more work than the more expensive ones because the sale was not done right. 

Does that $800K home involve double the amount of work as the $400K version?  Probably not.  But there's a whole lot of adult diapers that go into the answer to that question.

I've had 1-bedroom condos that have taken longer to sell than million dollar homes.  Consumers are fortunate they don't pay us based on degree of difficulty. 

Personally I treated the Seller of a mobile home with the same respect and attitude of gratitude as I did a new listing with one of my developers/contractors properties Leanne Smith .

Despite the blanket statement made, this is not a one-size-fits-all industry. A higher end property may cost more to market, whereas a lower priced one costs less but this all depends on the seller's wants and needs as well.

It really depends on your market. It's far more common to have an easier time selling higher priced homes in my market than it is selling low priced homes. Also not every situation is the same- i.e. transaction or relationship based. While as a generalization, I have no interest working the sub $600k market anymore, but if it's for an existing client or their friends/family- I will take it on. I recently had buyers that came my way seeking to purchase a $300k pied a terre. Even if we find a match for them immediately- I am looking at investing at least 150 hours of my time from proposed listings to closing but more likely 200+ hours working with these buyers- which is not a great use of my time vs. commissions earned.  I can easily invest the same amount of time in for a buyer at triple or quadruple the price point- and they are generally not as financially pressed- making it easier to work with the higher price point buyers. That said- there are lots of exceptions.  Here $400k is a studio or an income restricted apartment for the most part. The income restricted purchases are usually very difficult and time consuming to work with while the studio buyer is almost always a co-op, which takes far more time to work with the client on vs. a condo.  As I said- a lot depends on your market.  

$800,000.00 can be easier than $400,000.00. It just depends on the people involved with the transaction. It's basically case by case.