about 3 years ago - Shurenai - Direct link
You've got the right idea.

From the sounds of it, you or someone else has been in/around those houses to check for loot, and so reset the timer.

There's some limitations the system doesn't exactly warn you about. If you get too close (Within like 7-10 blocks)to a given lootable object before it's respawn timer ends, the respawn timer is reset. So on any lootable object you frequently go past, like bird nests right outside your base, you'll never see it respawn.