Innocence Island (Hog Cay)

Is Innocence Island (Hog Cay) for sale, and how much does it cost?

Innocence Island (Hog Cay) is a 681 acres developed private island in Bahamas, Bahamas. It is not currently on the market (a past-sale benchmark we track): Past sale · editorial benchmark. Tenure is freehold. Foreign ownership is permitted subject to local approvals. This is an editorial profile drawn from public record, clearly attributed, not our listing.

Summary

Innocence Island — Hog Cay on the charts — matters to anyone underwriting Bahamian island values because it is one of the few large private islands with a verified, published sale price. Once marketed near $55 million, the 681-acre island sold through a headline auction for $18.7 million in January 2015, a roughly two-thirds discount to peak ask that remains the cleanest public data point for large Exumas acreage. Reports of a later relisting around a $10 million reserve circulated in 2023 but were never confirmed. We profile it as an archive benchmark: a developed, airstrip-equipped island at genuine scale, and a caution about how far headline asking prices can sit from clearing prices in this market.

Land & Waterfront

The island is unusually three-dimensional for the Bahamas: terraced hills rise to around ninety feet, high ground that most cays in the chain simply do not have, over six white-sand beaches and roughly fifteen miles of cut trails. The land carries the trace of a former cotton plantation and mature fruit trees, which speaks to workable soil. Sitting on the Tropic of Cancer in the far southern Exumas, it enjoys the same water quality as the famous central cays with a fraction of the boat traffic. The combination of elevation, beach count and acreage put it, at the time of sale, among the largest privately held islands in the country — directly comparable to Little Ragged Island further south.

Access & Utilities

Self-sufficiency was the selling proposition. A private 2,800-foot airstrip with its own pilot identifier makes the island reachable by charter from Nassau or Miami without a boat transfer, and beach landings handle marine access. The built estate — a renovated three-storey main house of about 5,000 square feet with seven bedrooms, caretaker and staff houses, pool, pool house and a gym bungalow — ran on paired generators with rainwater storage and satellite communications. That is 2015-era infrastructure: any current owner or future buyer would be looking at solar and desalinationMaking fresh water from seawater — the standard supply on dry islands, priced in energy. retrofits as a matter of course. The remoteness that suppressed its auction price is also its operating cost driver; provisioning runs are long.

Ownership & Use

Foreign ownership is straightforward under the Bahamas International Persons Landholding Act, subject to permit. The island's real value to our readers today is analytical: the 2009–2015 price path (ask ~$55 million, clearing at $18.7 million) is the reference trade for pricing large southern-Bahamas acreage, and it disciplines expectations on assets like Little Ragged Island. Should Hog Cay resurface — the unconfirmed 2023 reserve chatter suggests the current owner has tested the market — it would suit a buyer wanting immediate habitability plus land-bank scale, with the airstrip carrying most of the practical value. Any approach starts with title verification, since ownership after the auction has not been publicly documented.

Provenance

The unidentified owner, diagnosed with a terminal illness in late 2013, sold the 681-acre island via a $10M-reserve Concierge Auctions sale at Trump SoHo New York in May 2014, with the deal closing at $18.7M in January 2015; no confirmed ownership change has been publicly reported since, and a widely repeated ~2023 relisting figure could not be independently confirmed.

Specification

Status	Archive
Offering	For sale
Region	Caribbean · Bahamas
Country	Bahamas
Size	681 acres · 276 ha
Tenure	Freehold
Development	Developed
Holding-cost band	High — estate operations
Access	boat, airstrip
Nearest airport	Private 2,800 ft airstrip on-island; charters from Nassau or Miami
Power	generators (15 kW and 25 kW plus caretaker unit)
Water	rainwater collection tank
Communications	satellite TV and phone
Structures	three-storey main house (~5,000 sq ft, 7BR), caretaker's house, maid's house, pool and pool house, gym/meditation bungalow, 2,800 ft airstrip
Foreign ownership	Permitted (see notes)

Price record

Documented public figures over time — asking prices, reported sales and reductions, each attributed. This record is maintained editorially and may lag the market.

The full traced record — ownership lineage and every dated event back to the earliest public mention — is in The Ledger, for members.

Legal & Ownership Notes

Bahamas International Persons Landholding Act permit for foreign buyers

• archive profile — island sold at auction in January 2015; a reported ~2023 relisting is unconfirmed
• verify current ownership before any approach

Satellite reference: ESRI World Imagery / Google Earth — Hog Cay (Innocence Island), southern Exumas, Bahamas.

Common questions

How much does Innocence Island (Hog Cay) cost?

Innocence Island (Hog Cay) is profiled at: Past sale · editorial benchmark. Figures reflect public record at time of writing and may change; the profile keeps a dated price record.

What tenure does Innocence Island (Hog Cay) have?

Innocence Island (Hog Cay) is held on freehold tenure. Always confirm the exact instrument and any remaining term on the title.

Can a foreigner buy Innocence Island (Hog Cay)?

Foreign buyers may own property here subject to local approvals. Bahamas International Persons Landholding Act permit for foreign buyers

How do you get to Innocence Island (Hog Cay)?

Access is by boat, airstrip. Nearest airport: Private 2,800 ft airstrip on-island; charters from Nassau or Miami.

How big is Innocence Island (Hog Cay)?

Innocence Island (Hog Cay) is approximately 681 acres (276 hectares).