Do I have any recourse against this builder/seller (NJ)?

[John Walter]

I've been under contract for a new construction MFR that I planned on house hacking since August. Close date was originally November 30, but was immediately moved to December 30, which was fine because that was communicated up front.

Flash forward, and over eight months later, they’re still not done. They work, maybe once a week, and at this rate, they are several months from completion. Another issue, their entire side has gone silent. My attorney apparently can’t reach them, and they refuse to provide any close date whatsoever. 

My contract states that I can now back out of the deal because they failed to complete this on time. If this was not a property I planned on living in, that would be fine but I am planning on living there. It’s in a great location and values are going up. 

The only thing I can think of, is the builder/seller wants me to back out so they can resell to someone else for a much higher price. Is there absolutely anything I can do in this situation to “force” them to actually finish building the home?

I’ve looked at other properties in the last month or so, but the area I want to be in is rather small. I put in an offer on one, but apparently there was a Corona-related death to someone close, so they claimed they weren’t selling anymore. I’ve been trying to get a builder to look at another property for about a week now, but can’t seem to make that happen either. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.