CENTURY CITY—An apartment on the 38th floor of an unfinished luxury condo tower in Century City sold recently for a record $15 million, but the new owner still won't get a view from the top.

Four flights up, the asking price for the penthouse is an astounding $30 million. On Thursday, the developer of the Century high-rise said an unidentified local buyer had agreed to pay $2,700 per square foot for a unit filling half of the 38th floor. The 42-story tower is under construction next to the famed Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel on Avenue of the Stars.

Despite plunging residential prices across much of the nation, home values in many wealthy enclaves continue to grow. A local realtor told Canyon News, “Real Estate on the West side is still going up in value, despite the real estate losses across the state and the nation. I don’t see it changing anytime in the future.” The previous record price per-square-foot for a Los Angeles-area condo was $1,700 for a unit at Doheny Drive and Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.

The Century is expected to be completed in fall 2009. Thirteen units in the building are under contract for purchase, said the developer, New York-based Related Cos.