Clarity NW
- Wealthy homeowners installed bespoke pizza ovens when the pandemic brought socializing outdoors.
- Homes with pizza ovens have the potential to sell for 3.7% higher than those without, Zillow said.
- Pizza ovens tend to add more value to a home than they cost, with pricier models reaching $11,000.
It's a little slice of heaven at home.
Bespoke built-in pizza ovens are becoming more and more popular amongst homeowners, and for good reason. Not only are they a fun way to cook and interact with company, they also have the ability to boost the home sale price when it hits the market.
In April, Zillow explored the sale premium that luxuries, like pizza ovens and "she sheds," can bring to the closing table. According to the report, having a pizza oven in your listing description can score you extra dough at selling time.
Listings that mentioned pizza ovens delivered a 3.7% sale premium over similar homes without mention of them — the second-highest premium of luxury add-ons surveyed by Zillow, behind steam ovens.
Zillow looked at nearly 2 million home sales in 2022 and inspected 271 features and design terms mentioned in the listing descriptions. The price premium was measured by comparing the homes' sale price to its pre-listing Zestimate.
That figure may not seem like a huge gain but using Zillow's average home price of $334,269, a pizza oven could earn you an extra $12,367. That would offset even the costliest offering of pizza-oven manufacturer Forno Bravo, whose residential ovens range in price from $2,795 to $11,145.
Courtesy of the Watanabes
The desire for pizza, and pizza ovens at home, is only growing. Research firm Allied Market Research reported the global pizza-oven market was valued at $1.8 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $3 billion by 2031. It's fueled, the firm said, by the spike in home cooking that accompanied the pandemic and a desire for more high-quality pizza with unique flavors.
Zillow concurs. "We have seen the sale premium associated with pizza ovens increase over the past couple of years," Zillow home trends expert Amanda Pendleton told Insider. "Agents are recognizing that this is something that's resonating with buyers and is something that sellers have invested in and that they're proud of and showing off."
Why pizza oven popularity is panning out
Kristi Jenkins, a Seattle-area broker for The Agency, showed her clients a $3.4 million home in Fall City, Washington — a 30-minute drive east of Seattle — with a large outdoor living space equipped with a Forno Bravo pizza oven.
While the amenity was not on her clients' wishlist, it did add bonus points — as they love to entertain — and they ended up closing on the home for $3.3 million.
"Over the last couple of years, outdoor living spaces have been an incredibly fast-growing feature in homes," Jenkins told Insider. "Anything that makes that special or unique or better for entertaining has been a highly desirable feature, and pizza ovens definitely fit that category."
Jenkins and Pendleton believe that the hunger for functional outdoor spaces is a side effect of pandemic lockdowns.
"COVID really did change the way that we live," Pendleton said. "It forced us to cook a lot more meals at home and it forced all of our entertaining to happen outside. And people really started enjoying this."
The oven is a small price to pay for convenience — and a boost when selling
Eco packaging executive Ralph Bianculli built a 15,000-square-foot estate in the Long Island town of Mill Neck, New York, with many bells and whistles, including a ten-stable barn for horses. But one enhancement Bianculli is supremely proud of is the built-in pizza oven.
"If you enjoy cooking and you enjoy cooking a lot of diversified foods, having all the tools is part of the game," he told Insider.
Douglas Elliman Realty
Bianculli's pizza oven is a part of his kitchen and is connected to one of six fireplaces in the house. That luxury cost Bianculli about $5,000 to install while building, but he believes it's worth the money.
"It becomes as much of a tool to be used in the house as it is a talking point, so I guess I got my $5,000 out of it," he said.
His Long Island home is currently on the market for $10 million. He said he's definitely considering putting a pizza oven in the next home.
Bianculli hosts regular Sunday dinners, and the pizza oven is often a showstopper.
"I'm sometimes amazed every time we cook in that oven, how people will stand around it wondering how it works," he said. "They all want to participate."