LONDON (Reuters) - House prices in England and Wales rose last month at their strongest rate in almost three years, buoyed by tight supply and record low interest rates, a survey indicated on Tuesday.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said 34 percent more surveyors reported price rises in the three months to October than price falls, up from a revised 21 in September.

That beat the consensus forecast for a reading of 28 and was the highest since December 2006, when Britain's economy was still booming and house prices were rising at a double-digit rate.

The findings tally with surveys from mortgage lenders which show property prices have recovered strongly in recent months after losing as much as a fifth of their value during last year.

Figures from the Nationwide Building Society last month showed British house prices rose for a sixth month running in October to register their first annual gain since early 2008.

The RICS survey showed new demand was continuing to outpace the supply of property onto the market. That helped the sales-to-stock ratio, an indicator of future price moves, rise for a tenth consecutive month to its highest level since December 2007.

Moreover, surveyors were increasingly confident that prices would remain on an upward track. A balance of 31 percent expected increases in the next three months, up from 25 percent in September.

(Reporting by Christina Fincher; editing by Patrick Graham)