South Florida construction starts in January plummeted year-over-year, with steep declines in both residential and commercial sectors, a recently released report shows.

Total construction starts fell 45 percent to $640.8 million in January. Residential construction dropped by 55 percent to $333.2 million, while non-residential construction dipped by 28 percent to $307.6 million, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.

The difficult start of the year is a continuation of the decline in residential construction in December, reflecting ...