diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 9bfee853ac..26bc3c8b4d 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -841,7 +841,7 @@ esac],
 
 dnl default to building registry in the source tree if we are enabling plugin build dir
 if test "x$PLUGINS_USE_BUILDDIR"="xyes"; then
-  GST_CONFIG_DIR=$builddir
+  GST_CONFIG_DIR="\$(top_builddir)"
 else
   GST_CONFIG_DIR=/etc/gstreamer
 fi