diff -r eb830f1511ef Lib/distutils/msvc9compiler.py
--- a/Lib/distutils/msvc9compiler.py	Thu Dec 15 12:51:34 2016 +0200
+++ b/Lib/distutils/msvc9compiler.py	Thu Dec 15 13:17:24 2016 +0100
@@ -248,7 +248,8 @@
             productdir = os.path.abspath(productdir)
             if not os.path.isdir(productdir):
                 log.debug("%s is not a valid directory" % productdir)
-                return None
+                # fallback to toolsdir, correct for VS for Python
+                productdir = os.path.abspath(toolsdir)
         else:
             log.debug("Env var %s is not set or invalid" % toolskey)
     if not productdir: