diff --git a/makefile b/makefile
index e590eb02..0d539848 100644
--- a/makefile
+++ b/makefile
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ ifeq (${WIN32},)  #*nix Environments (&& cygwin)
       OS_CCDEFS += -Wno-deprecated
     endif
   endif
-  ifeq (git-repo,$(shell if ${TEST} -d ./.git; then echo git-repo; fi))
+  ifeq (git-repo,$(shell if ${TEST} -e ./.git; then echo git-repo; fi))
     GIT_PATH=$(strip $(shell which git))
     ifeq (,$(GIT_PATH))
       $(error building using a git repository, but git is not available)