The FDIC is adding Denver--along with Ft. Worth, Jacksonville, Sacramento and Seattle--to its lists of cities at risk of overbuilding. A total of 13 cities are at risk, says the FDIC, in its third-quarter regional outlook report. Already on the list are Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland and Salt Lake City. Nashville has been dropped from the list because of tighter standards for inclusion.

Denver's vulnerability to overbuilding is being caused by the infusion of high-tech companies, according to the report. In past years, Denver has widely been heralded by local economists and business leaders for moving from dependency on oil and natural resources to a diversified economy based on high-tech, telecommunications, biotechnology and mutual funds, such as Janus and Invesco, as well as other fast-growing industries.

"Many of Denver's small high-tech companies are extremely sensitive to swings in the stock market and private capital funding sources," concludes the FDIC report. "Denver is also home to a thriving financial services industry (e.g., investment firms, mutual fund companies), which isclosely linked to financial market conditions, increasing the vulnerability of the Denver Metropolitan Statistical Area."