After a slight drop in April, total housing starts in California rose a bit in May, the California Building Industry Association reported.

According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board, permits were pulled for 3,088 total housing units in May, up 4 percent from the same month a year ago but down 6 percent from April.

Permits for single-family homes totaled 1,902, down 19 percent from May 2009 and down 17 percent from the previous month, while multifamily permits totaled 1,186, up 87 percent from a year ago and up 17 percent from April.

For the first five months of the year, permits were pulled for 16,789 units, up 16 percent when compared to the first five months of 2009, when 14,517 permits were issued. Single-family permits were up 13 percent while multifamily permits rose 21 percent.

Liz Snow, board president and CEO, said housing starts increased for a fourth month this year and continue to be slightly above last year’s levels, but the industry is still facing an uphill battle.

“CIRB has just released an updated projection for the year which says just over 45,000 total units will be built this year in California, down from their previous projection of 48,000 total units,” said Snow. “While we remain optimistic for the remainder of the year, it appears we may experience a very modest improvement as the industry continues to stabilize.”

Snow said a state tax credit for homebuyers is still in effect.

“While much has been said about the expiration of the federal tax credit, we’d like to remind everyone that a state credit for homebuyers is in effect,” said Snow. “While we understand that there are still many people unemployed as the economic recovery slowly materializes, we encourage buyers to take advantage of the credit, which, coupled with persistent low interest rates, makes this a great time to buy a home.”