diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Load.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Load.scala
index e7ca88338..9277bd8f8 100755
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Load.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Load.scala
@@ -100,7 +100,10 @@ private[sbt] object Load {
     val delegates = defaultDelegates
     val pluginMgmt = PluginManagement(loader)
     val inject = InjectSettings(injectGlobal(state), Nil, const(Nil))
-    System.setProperty("swoval.tmpdir", System.getProperty("swoval.tmpdir", globalBase.toString))
+    System.setProperty(
+      "swoval.tmpdir",
+      System.getProperty("swoval.tmpdir", globalBase.getAbsolutePath.toString)
+    )
     LoadBuildConfiguration(
       stagingDirectory,
       classpath,
diff --git a/notes/1.3.0/set-swovalpath-with-absolutepath.md b/notes/1.3.0/set-swovalpath-with-absolutepath.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7aac9d05c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/notes/1.3.0/set-swovalpath-with-absolutepath.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+[@yamachu]: https://github.com/yamachu
+
+[#5047]: https://github.com/sbt/sbt/issues/5047
+[#5048]: https://github.com/sbt/sbt/pull/5048
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+- Enable file watching when setting relative path to sbt.global.base [#5047][5047]/[#5048][5048] by [@yamachu][@yamachu]