Deciding what to do with new construction.

[Remy Juarez]

For the past year and a half I have acted as my own contractor and built a 3 bedroom 3 bathroom 2400 sq home I intended to move into after finishing. I am near the end point of the construction process. I will have invested 160k cash on a house that by my most conservative projections will appraise at 250k. I have changed my mind about moving in and want to instead find the most effective way to  manage my asset to continue growing. I’ve considered getting a home equity loan and renting the house out, using the the equity loan for a down payment on a multi family property while the tenants pay for my loan/down payment. If I sell I would have to pay capital gains tax and I am really trying to avoid that. Can a 1031 tax exchange be used on a new construction? What would you do if you were in my situation?