This all depends on whether or not there is a contract in place and the various states' laws governing contracts.  If there is no contract, that is no agreement signed by both buying parties and selling parties, then, of course, one may back out.  But the tenor of this question seems to indicate that a contract has been signed, so I will answer it along those lines.  Any answer here that involves a signed contract should be discussed with an attorney in the jurisdiction of the contract who has expertise in Real Estate law.

If a buyer has been approved and is ready to close and all conditions of the contract have been met by the buyer and a closing will take place by the date prescribed and the SELLER wants to back out at the last minute, the buyer can technically hold the seller to the contract.  Practically speaking there could be financial damages such as a locked in rate that will expire in a higher rate environment, loan costs paid out of pocket such as for the appraisal, notice having been given to landlords with new tenants ready to move into the vacated apartment, movers on the way from out of state with the buyers belongings, and so forth.  Damages could be extracted from the seller to recover those costs if there is no closing.  With a listed property, the listing and selling agents will likely be the buyers' best advocates, but legal advice should be sought for the amount of damages if no closing can take place.

If it is the buyer who is backing out at the last minute, some of these same expenses could have been incurred by the seller and a deposit may not be sufficient to make them whole.  Unless something like a job loss which would mean a fallthrough in financing or some other large event takes place, legal advice should be sought before refusing to abide by the terms of the contract.

In either case, this is serious business.

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