Britons hoping to buy their first home face the most difficult conditions in 70 years, according to a new report released Monday.

First-time buyers are grappling with the twin challenges of historically high down payments and steep mortgage repayments, whereas many previous generations faced either one or the other, says the study by the Building Societies Association, a trade body whose members account for almost a quarter of all mortgage lending in the United Kingdom.

“Becoming a first-time buyer is expensive, possibly the most expensive it has been over at least the last 70 years,” the BSA report says. “During some periods both the cost of buying (down payments) and the cost of owning (mortgage repayments) have been high. This is the situation that many prospective first-time buyers now find themselves in.”

The analysis finds that the typical first-time buyer needs to stump up a down payment, or deposit, of around £60,000 ($74,000), rising to £144,000 ($178,000) in London, where “support from family appears almost essential.”