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It boasts an array of selling points including a half-mile, gated causeway lined with palm trees, a private beach and the distinction of having been in the film "Forrest Gump."
So why have its owners been unable to sell the picturesque, 12-acre property in northern Beaufort County despite slashing their asking price twice in the past six months?
In short, the recession and its aftershocks in the banking world have dramatically reduced an already limited pool of capable, discerning potential purchasers, said Billy Gavigan, a broker marketing the island.
A successful professional such as a doctor, who might readily have borrowed money to buy the place a few years ago, can no longer find financing, a hurdle that has eliminated about 70 percent of would-be buyers, Gavigan said.
"The people who can buy (land of that caliber) know they're not competing against a lot of other people," said Gavigan, who specializes in high-dollar deals.
Demand for such private island enclaves has waned noticeably since the downturn after peaking as land prices and speculation increased during the housing boom that swallowed much of South Carolina's coast, real estate agents and conservationists said last week.
Elsewhere in Beaufort County, home to an estimated 1,300 islands, at least one has been on the market far longer than Live Oaks.
In 2007, newspaper accounts trumpeted the availability of Savage Island, 413 acres of maritime forest sandwiched between Bluffton and Hilton Head and Daufuskie islands.
At the time, the sellers wanted $15 million for the bridgeless island, a price that included a three-bedroom house built in 1966, caretaker's home, horse stable, dog kennel, workshop and three boats as well as a small cottage and dock in greater Bluffton. Much of the island is protected by a conservation easement, but five additional homes are allowed, according to the reports.
The sellers once turned down an offer of $8 million, according to Catherine Harrison of Celia Dunn Sotheby's International Realty, who listed the property then. The list price has since fallen to less than $7 million, according to the website of its new listing agents at Premier Island Properties.
Harrison said some suitors looking to own islands such as Savage are likely carefully scrutinizing their value these days.
"You could buy a hell of a lot more property for $15 million," she said. "It's unique, but right now not unique enough for the (original) price tag."
ACCESS ISSUES
Investing in islands perhaps made more sense when skyrocketing land values made it feasible for developers to spend -- for example -- $4 million to build a bridge to a 30-acre island, said Nancy Vinson, program director for air, water and public health programs at the Coastal Conservation League. The league successfully pushed in recent years for legislation to limit such bridges.
The league's push started earlier this decade when requests were rising to build bridges or causeways to some of South Carolina's approximately 2,400 small marsh islands, she said.
The law the league pushed for now prohibits bridges for all but 150 to 180 marsh islands that are particularly large or close to shore, she estimated.
In addition to the law, the abundance of good deals available on waterfront property on the mainland might also be discouraging development of islands, Vinson said.
"I would think that would take some of the pressure off," she said.
BARGAIN PRICES
Access is certainly not an issue for Live Oaks. It is reachable by yacht from St. Helena Sound or by its causeway from Fripp Point Road.
The island is owned in part by a member of the Close family, a Fort Mill-based textile clan that uses it for the occasional gathering and sometimes allows Boy Scouts and schoolchildren to explore it.
No buildings have gone up on it yet, but it contains eight waterfront lots that have all utilities in place and are ready to accommodate estates, marketing materials say.
It features a saltwater pond and a private beach separated from the sound by an aqueduct and a dock with six boat slips and two boat lifts.
Its marketing materials and website -- which tout both its unspoiled seclusion and its proximity to fishing, golf and historic Beaufort -- proclaim it will bestow "a legacy for generations" upon its lucky buyer.
More than 2,000 people, including businessmen from the Northeast and people in the country music business, have registered their interest with Gavigan and fellow broker Joe McVay. Even though the asking price has dropped from $10 million to $4.5 million, nobody has yet closed the deal.
Gavigan is confident the island will sell, though probably not at the value it would have before the economy headed south.
Much like his colleagues who operate at lower price ranges, Gavigan emphasizes that Live Oaks' next owner will have received a bargain that would not have been possible in prior years.
There are now few people in a position to buy a place like Live Oaks without financing, but in many respects, the prices of the exclusive refuges Gavigan sells are affected by the same economic forces as those of average residential lots, he said.
"The only thing that changes is the zeros," he said.
