TV3 airs a feature on the sale and restoration of Can Morgat in Pla de l’Estany
Post published in Press
The Catalan public broadcaster TV3 dedicated a report in its Telenotícies Comarques news segment to the growing interest among foreign buyers in Catalan masías – featuring Àngels Sabater, co-director of Cottage Properties.
Growing interest from foreign buyers in Catalan masías
On 9 October 2025, Telenotícies Comarques on TV3 broadcast a report titled “Creix l’interès dels estrangers per les masies que reformen buscant natura i història” (“Foreigners’ interest grows in renovating masías in search of nature and history”).
The segment focused on the rising trend of European buyers acquiring ruined masías to restore them as rural homes or boutique hotels.
Among those featured were Àngels Sabater, co-director of Cottage Properties, and a Belgian-Czech couple – Maarten Dermul and Monika Red – who recently purchased Can Morgat, a masía located in Porqueres, in the Pla de l’Estany region of Girona.
Both the sale and the forthcoming restoration are being managed by Cottage Properties.
Can Morgat: the masía of the Banyoles Lake legend
Can Morgat is an 18th-century masía set on the banks of Lake Banyoles, a site renowned for its natural beauty and its role in local legends surrounding the lake’s origins.
After more than 20 years uninhabited, the property will be transformed into a rural hotel by the Cottage Properties technical team, who also oversaw the sale.
The TV3 report shows how the new owners plan to preserve the traditional architectural essence of the masía, using local materials and techniques that respect its original heritage.
Filming took place both at Can Morgat (Porqueres) and at another masía currently being restored by Cottage Properties in Regencós (Baix Empordà).
The rise of foreign buyers
According to the report, foreign buyers now account for around 30% of property transactions in the province of Girona – mainly from the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom – although Cottage Properties notes that around 70% of its clients are international.
Unlike speculative development, these purchases are helping to revive Catalonia’s rural heritage.
Restoration of masías is only permitted when the buildings are listed in each municipality’s official catalogue of masías, ensuring compliance with strict preservation regulations.
“Specialised real-estate agencies are seeing an increase in foreigners interested in masías, making up 70% of buyers. They are mostly Dutch, Belgian, and British, and most are buying properties to live here in Catalonia,” explained journalist Marta Masó Escobairó, presenter of Telenotícies Comarques.
Statement from Àngels Sabater
“Earlier in 2025, our team reviewed more than 400 municipal archives and identified 22,967 masías across Catalonia. However, most are in ruins. This growing real-estate market is helping us to recover an essential part of Catalonia’s heritage that might otherwise have been lost forever,” says Àngels Sabater, co-director of Cottage Properties.
Sabater also highlighted the company’s commitment to sustainable, zero-kilometre restoration, using original stone, Montseny oak beams, locally made tiles and ceramics, and natural lime instead of cement.
“Masías represent a way of life that endured for nearly a thousand years. Preserving them is, in a way, preserving the identity of Catalonia,” she concluded.
Related links
Press contact
Àngels Sabater, Executive Co-Director
Cottage Properties
Avinguda Josep Maria de Ventós, 16, 17744 Navata, Girona
[email protected]
+34 972 55 00 90
www.cottageproperties.es
Images
Images of Can Morgat must be credited to Cottage Properties, with a link to the official press release: https://www.cottageproperties.es/en/blog/tv3-airs-feature-restoration-can-morgat-pla-de-lestany
These images are covered by the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence, allowing use provided the author is credited and the original source is linked.
Post published 14/10/2025 in Press
