About Us

Santina Homes

Family-owned since 1999. Two generations.

We are a team with years of experience in the Costa del Sol real estate sector.

Michael Sturhoofd came to Estepona in 1999 to work as a real estate agent. Around the same time, Mar Sipos was running a property rental business a few streets away. The two met locally and, over time, decided to combine what they had each built.

What grew out of that became Santina.

It wasn’t planned as a business from day one, more two people who realised they worked well together and kept going.

For a few years, Santina operated as part of a larger franchise network. After about three years, Michael and Mar decided that running a small, independent agency suited them better, and moved away from the franchise model.

We grew up here and know the area well, including the parts that don’t show up in guidebooks.

Michael and Mar are both still involved in the business today, twenty-five years on. Michael’s son Mickey grew up on this coast as well, spent a few years working in startups, and has since come back to take on more of the day-to-day operations, including systems and processes. He isn’t doing this alone: Diego and Yuliana have been working alongside him, and together they’re the ones now carrying more of the day-to-day forward. Michael and Mar haven’t stepped back. It’s a gradual transition between generations, with both still closely involved.

We aim to offer the kind of personal attention we would want if we were the ones buying.

Through our network we have access to properties across the Costa del Sol well beyond what is listed on our own website, and we also work on off-market and pocket listings that never appear online at all. Rather than show everything, we review what we list ourselves, so that what is on this site has genuinely been checked. Finding the right property can take longer this way. That is fine with us.

Santina Homes team

Est.1999

Aerial view of Estepona showing the Plaza de Toros bullring, the old town and the coastline

The Team

Michael Sturhoofd

Michael is from the Netherlands and moved to Estepona in 1999 to work as a real estate agent.

He has worked through the fiscal, legal and commercial side of the market here for over two decades, and still handles a lot of that directly with clients.

Outside of work, he cooks and likes having people over.

Michael Sturhoofd

Partner

michael@santinahomes.com

Mar Sipos

Mar has Dutch-Hungarian roots and has lived in Estepona for decades. Before Santina existed, she was running a property rental business a few streets from where Michael worked as an agent.

She speaks seven languages and worked for KLM before that, which is part of how she built up contacts both locally and abroad.

She looks after client relations: helping people settle in, arranging practical things, staying in touch long after the sale is done.

Mar Sipos

Co-Founder & Client Relations

mar@santinahomes.com

Diego Enrile

Diego is from Marbella and spent years living and working abroad, including time in France and in professional polo, before coming back to work in property here.

He speaks three languages and handles a large part of Santina’s sales today, alongside Mickey.

He’d rather tell a client a property is wrong for them than push a sale that doesn’t fit.

Diego Enrile

Senior Sales

diego@santinahomes.com

Mickey Sturhoofd

Mickey is Michael’s son and grew up on the Costa del Sol. He spent a few years working in startups before coming back to Estepona to work at Santina.

He handles client work alongside Diego, and also much of what runs behind the scenes: systems, market analysis, and the internal processes that keep the agency working.

If he recommends something, it’s because he has actually looked into it first.

Mickey Sturhoofd

Sales & Operations

mickey@santinahomes.com

Yuliana Cortes

Yuliana is from Colombia and has lived in Spain for the past 15 years.

She manages the office: scheduling, coordination and follow-ups, from a client’s first enquiry through to the paperwork at the end.

If something needs doing, she’s usually already on it.

Yuliana Cortes

Office Manager

yuliana@santinahomes.com

Client Testimonials

Where We Work

Five areas along the coast, each with its own guide covering what it’s actually like to live there.

Get in Touch

Call the office, send a message, or come by for a coffee.

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